Bring Out the Talent: A Learning and Development Podcast

Aligning Personal Purpose with Professional Leadership

• Maria Melfa & Jocelyn Allen • Season 5 • Episode 63

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Most of us are familiar with the term IQ (intelligent quotient) and EQ (Emotional Quotient) – but how familiar are you with your MQ or Motivational Quotient? MQ is the driving force behind our ambitions and growth, influenced by factors like goals, confidence, personality, and attitude. But while many leaders pay special attention to IQ and EQ, ones MQ can differentiate a truly successful leader from the rest.

This episode of ‘Bring Out the Talent’ welcomes Sam Caballero, a seasoned Talent Development expert, Pivotn co-founder, CEO, and Coach, and a key figure in talent cultivation at the Air Force Reserve Command and the International Coaching Federation. Together, we'll discuss the pivotal role of personal purpose and motivation in steering impactful leadership, the significance of MQ in navigating leadership challenges, and how aligning personal values with professional responsibilities can elevate leadership effectiveness. So, tune in to elevate your leadership game by harnessing your motivational intelligence.

SPEAKER_03:

Welcome

SPEAKER_00:

to Bring Out the Talent, a podcast featuring learning and development experts discussing innovative approaches and industry insights. Tune in to hear our talent, help develop yours. Now here are your hosts, GTA's CEO and President Maria Melfa and Talent Manager Jocelyn Allen.

SPEAKER_04:

Hi, Jocelyn. Hi, Maria. Lovely to be with you again. Thanks for setting off the vibes because I recognize that when we start dancing is when the show like really starts. Like even if you're sitting still and you start moving and people are like, oh, we're supposed to do that. It's like, yes, you're supposed to dance. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03:

Get with the program, people. And Sam jumped right in. So we appreciate Sam jumping in. Well, I had some extra time. mushroom coffee today. And I'm really, really loving this. If you guys have not tried it, I will do an endorsement for Rise. I am not getting paid for it, but it is good stuff. I really, really like

SPEAKER_04:

it. R-Y-C-E, right? For Rise? Yeah. I see you drinking it and it smells like, I love the way that it smells. Yeah, it's really, really good.

SPEAKER_03:

So it's about five different types of mushrooms and it's good stuff. Needless to say, it's going to be an exciting episode. It should be exciting. I'm extra hyper. Great. Okay. So I'm very excited about our topic today. It's something that I think we need to talk more about, and it's all about motivation. and what we can do to hone that in more. So let's get started. Most of us are very familiar with the term IQ, intelligent quotient, and emotional quotient, I believe, EQ. But how familiar are you with MQ or motivational quotient? MQ is the driving force behind our ambitions and growth influenced by factors like goals, goals, Confidence, personality, attitude, upbringing. No, I just added that, but probably, right? But while many leaders pay special attention to IQ and EQ, IQ can differentiate a truly successful leader from the rest. In this episode, we're joined by our friend and consultant, Sam Caballero. Sam is a talent development professional and co-founder, CEO, and pivot coach for Pivot and Sam is also a Senior Advisor for the Professional Development Center, Air Force Reserve Command, Warren Robbins Air Force Base in Georgia, and Associate Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation. With his extensive experience, Sam will discuss how personal purpose and motivation are crucial for impactful leadership. will explore the role of MQ in decision-making, tackling leadership challenges, and the importance of aligning personal values with their professional duties. Sam will also offer insights on how leaders can synchronize swim. No, that is not correct. Sam will also offer insights on how leaders can synchronize their personal and professional objectives with to enhance their leadership capabilities, focusing on their intrinsic motivations. So welcome, Sam. What an incredible background.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you, Maria. I appreciate

SPEAKER_03:

it. So when did you get into synchronized swimming?

SPEAKER_02:

The last time I got thrown into a pool and told to

SPEAKER_04:

swim. That's what we called it, right? Synchronized swimming.

SPEAKER_02:

And that actually happened to me when I was in summer camp years ago. They just threw me right in the pool and they just looked at me and said, you need to swim. I said, okay.

SPEAKER_03:

That was the good old-fashioned days when we just did that to our children. Learned by doing.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. Now we have to get And it still echoes today.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. Now we have to give them 20 years of private lessons before we let them loose. So, Sam, I read in an article that summed up IQ, EQ, and MQ for leaders. And they're saying IQ, intelligent quotient, how capable are professionals at their job within the organization. EQ, how emotionally aware are they and how do they interact with others. and MQ, how they operate and propagate motivation and vision within the organization. So I love that explanation. Would you talk a little bit more about the motivation quotient and what is crucial for someone in a leadership position and how does it help leaders take decisive actions on making strategic decisions?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, thank you very much for that question, Maria. I remember my brother-in-law and I, we used to own a small little business where we would export into the United States different pallets. We didn't know exactly what were the pallets, but believe me, they were safe. Nothing in there other than just stuff. And we had a contact in Mexico City where he would find these pallets and we'd buy them and we would ship them up here and we'd take them to the flea market and we'd sell them there. We wouldn't sell the product. We would sell it to the vendors. And it took a long time to find a great contact, but we finally found one. And he invited us to Mexico City along with other people that he was doing business with. And he said, you know what? I'm going to take you to a fine restaurant. You're going to love this place. And they have this dish that gives you vitality and strength. And I'm like, okay, vitality and strength. I want some of that. I had no idea what he was talking about, but we met him, including some other guests, And he took us to this awesome restaurant. If you're in Mexico City, you got to go to the Polanco area of the city. And it's just incredibly beautiful. And we went to this restaurant called La Mercedez. And we walked in. Great. I mean, just beautifully decorated. And on the table were like chips and salsa, different types of salsa. And we ordered our drinks, sat down, talking to people. And he was like, you ready? We're going to bring the food out. So it was appetizers. And great. several plates came out and one of them was called escamoles have you ever heard of escamoles maria

SPEAKER_03:

not interested to learn more

SPEAKER_01:

well as we're coming out i thought to myself i am not eating that and it was basically red carpenter ant larvae mixed with egg cilantro tomatoes and onions and i thought to myself oh god

SPEAKER_04:

At least they put cilantro in there, right? Maybe, maybe. Wow. And

SPEAKER_01:

my brother-in-law, when you look at the word motivation, what's interesting about the word is the first two letters, MO, M-O. And when you look at other words that start with M-O, like motive or and money, one of the things you have to recognize is, okay, well, what will make you do what you need to do? What will be the trigger? Movere is the root word for motivation and motive. And so what will basically in Spanish, we say mover, what will move you to do what's necessary? And so sitting in that table or at that restaurant, I thought to myself, I don't want to embarrass him. He's been a great host. And I don't want to embarrass me because already one of the guests was like, I ain't eating that. And so one pallet cost us almost 10 grand, I remember.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, my goodness.

SPEAKER_01:

And so you're talking about money and resources. And I don't want to anger him. So what am I willing to do as a leader to be motivated enough to try it? And I tried it. And it was really good. Now, there was another plate called gusanos, which are worms, thick worms, like the size of your finger. I tried that. I won't eat that again.

SPEAKER_03:

Did you have any margaritas while you were doing

SPEAKER_01:

this? I sure did. Well, you needed to, right? You needed to. But at the end of the day, when you look at yourself and you recognize what will move you, one of the things you have to do is you have to be aware of you. and your mannerisms and your behavior and also recognize, well, what I want out of this. I want a great relationship with this person and I can trust him. So being that I trust him, I'm going to do it. We ended up having and continue to have a great relationship with him, but that was one of my first experiences about recognizing one's motivation quotient what are you willing to do even though you don't want to do it deep down in your mind you're like i don't want to do it but in your heart you're going to have to get up and you're going to have to make that movement happen so what are you going to do to moverse so that you can make that magic happen as a leader

SPEAKER_04:

What a great story, Sam. You're an amazing storyteller to take something as simple as, well, here's what it means, and turning it into a story that you literally took us on a journey now. I can't believe I'm saying that I now feel like my brain knows what ants and cilantro taste like because I'm thinking about it so hard. I will also pass. No, but we... I love, where do you, this is totally sidelined, but where do you get your motivational quotient from? Like what has inspired you to look into something like this and then also be able to tell it in such a fabulous story that keeps people engaged and it motivates them to, there was a pun not intended, I swear, but motivates them to kind of develop their own MQ.

UNKNOWN:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So I started out in learning and development as a military training instructor, a drill sergeant. I would wear a smoky bear hat. I had little metal taps on my combat boots. And I learned about, can you make somebody do something they don't want to do? You can, but will they care? And that's when I recognized that there are two different types of motivation. Obviously fear is one of them. But then the other one is that deep down in my heart, this means something to me. So one of the things that I quickly recognized was, okay, well, what does it mean to be Sam? And unfortunately I had the odds against me because scientifically there's a theory out there that says that most males will mature. Now you're ready for this. Most males will mature around their late twenties, and early 30s.

SPEAKER_04:

Really? It's that soon? I'm just kidding. To all of our male listeners and male friends, I'm just making a joke.

SPEAKER_03:

It's a biological fact. It is a biological fact that

SPEAKER_04:

they do. The frontal lobe doesn't develop until much later. But yeah, it's fascinating, fascinating facts about our biology.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I think it could be like 40s and 50s actually. For

SPEAKER_02:

some, yes, absolutely. That's

SPEAKER_03:

where I was leading. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01:

But let me ask you this. For women, where do you think they usually land on the average age?

SPEAKER_04:

Legitimately speaking, I would say 18 to 25. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

You

SPEAKER_03:

get a card. I didn't prove a point there. No, I... I certainly have read that and everybody says it though. And it's interesting because I wonder if that is changing at all biologically. I know our environmental factors are making people, I think, more... Immature because people don't get out. Right. They stay in the house and they. But that's interesting. Yes.

SPEAKER_04:

What does it mean to be biologically mature? Right. Are they two different things? Because, I mean, maybe that's what we're getting at. Right. And the difference between IQ, EQ and MQ is that there's a factor of it that has a. a biological factor as to how a brain grows and therefore you're at this stage of your life. And then there's environmental factors that nurture certain things to be different from others who have the same brain composition otherwise. So I agree with you. I mean, between the pandemic, between the way that our technology has changed and the way people interact with it and how early they interact with it, I would absolutely say that those numbers could change tomorrow. They could change again in the next 10 years. I think it's a very valid point.

SPEAKER_01:

For many of us, we look at maturity as behavior. mannerisms, our reactions. But sometimes we don't look at it from the perspective of awareness that even before you do whatever, did you pick up on your trigger quickly enough to recognize that what I'm about to do is going to have a consequence. And a lot of times when you're in your mid twenties as a male to late twenties, maybe even early thirties, you do things and it's like, Oh, I did it and now I'm just regretting it. I just cannot believe I did this. But the other fact to this, or the other part to this, is that do you know enough of you to recognize what is your propósito or your purpose? And I like to use the word purpose in Spanish, propósito, because pro is what do you put ahead? Pósito of the thing that's important to you. And I really didn't understand that. And as... I was in my early 30s. I was already now a father, married. And I started recognizing that, what is my purpose? I'm a father. I'm a husband. I'm a member in the military. I'm a son. Okay, well, then how does that all culminate to what drives you? What gets you out of bed every day? Well, I got to put food on the table. I got to pay the bills. I want to be transparent and honest with myself. When I look in the mirror, I want to still be able to look at myself. So There's a lot of factors of what will motivate and move you. But I think what was important, and I didn't really recognize that until I hit my 40s, was that if you were to put it in a quick elevator pitch about you and what is it that gets you out of bed, I think I came to the realization that I truly enjoyed helping people, but not just helping them, helping them help themselves. And I think that once I put it in a statement, it's It really resonated with not only my mind where you have all these things that are kind of trying to interlink themselves, but it also came to my heart about love and care. And so when you combine the both, now I really knew what it meant to be Sam and what is it drives me as my personal why. So for me, it is about helping people help themselves and it culminates all the things of my past. What makes Sam, Sam, but Sam. The beauty of it is that I'm different from you, from Maria, from anyone, because we all have our own why.

SPEAKER_04:

Love, love, love, love that. And thank you for the remarkable segue to my next question, because identifying that personal purpose, your reason why... That's the start of everything. I mean, the start with why conversation has been coming up so much more recently because it matters. It matters how you think and how you feel personally and how that applies to So you're talking about motivation and the personal purpose and alignment of that. And so now let's take it into organizational development and performance. We know a motivated workforce is essential for success. The higher the motivation, the better the performance is. And the same would apply to leaders and others in different roles throughout companies. But in your view, how does a leader or a manager in particular take their own personal purpose and align it with their professional roles and responsibilities? How do we create the transition to apply it in our work environment?

SPEAKER_01:

That's an awesome question. My father-in-law, unfortunately, had passed away last month. And instead of trading gifts, we decided to exchange books that he would like. And I got an incredible book written by a Dr. Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning. Oh, let me tell you, that book, I mean, I just could not put it down. And if you're not familiar with his story, a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst from Vienna, Austria, had a chance to come to the United States right before or during the Anschluss when Germany entered Austria. And he decided, no, I can't. I can't abandon my parents. So he got picked up. He got arrested, including his wife. And he ended up going to Auschwitz. And he survived. And even through all the tragedy and the horror that he saw, In the book, he talked about what is it that I can do to keep me going? What will be the motivating factor that aligns with my why? And so he learned multiple things in his journey. I think the one that was so compelling for me was to not to think about the past, but to think about the now. And of course, think about the future. And most importantly, to recognize that this is only temporary. But then what does it mean to be you? And so one of the things that he had was that he knows and he knew at the time, what does it mean to be Dr. Viktor Frankl? I'm doing my thing right now in this place, but it's only temporary. And I can take what I'm learning and leverage it so that as I face these problems, I can use that to help me continue to survive. So now you take that. And I know that everyone's got their challenges at work. And there are some things you can control. And of course, there are things you're completely out of your control. But one of the things that I learned from the book is, where are you going to put your energy? Are you going to put on the things that you have no control over? Or can you just simply acknowledge those things that you have no control over and engage in the things that you have true influence over? And that is what he decided to do. I can control me. I can't control you and I can't control the organization, but I can control me and how I look at things. And the only way that I can really empower myself to do that is to go back to what does it mean to be me? What is my purpose? So as I got done with that book, and as a consultant, as an Air Force reservist, I see challenges all over the place. Their decisions that are made are out of my control, but it will impact me both monetarily as well as work that I'm going to be able to land in the future. But at the end of the day, I can decide how I'm going to take it. I can be down and about or I can rise, take the opportunity and learn from it and leverage that. so that I can continue to rise for the future.

SPEAKER_04:

I hear everything you're saying. And I was listening and I'm like, it's so, his story is so inspiring. And the way that you tell it again, so inspiring. I love how you related it back to your father-in-law too. I'm sorry about his passing. That is a beautiful story and how you were to honor him. I would have felt so much doing that for somebody like that. I hear like the fear already, right? in doing what you said needs to be done. And it's like shutting off the emotion or personality that comes with people's innate kind of quality to be concerned about others instead of just themselves. And I say that very generalized, like being concerned about others. Like, what do they think of me? How is this going to come across and therefore change perception down the road? I instantly go to that place of like, well, if I don't care, then I could be the jerk, right? At the That's a barrier for me where I'd be like, wow, okay, I want to do it. I'm going to motivate myself to do it. It's going to take me some time, but I'm going to get there. Is that a common barrier in this type of work, like self-work to get to the motivational quotient? Or what are some other ones that people might encounter when trying to tackle this type of experience?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, let me tell you. Senior imposter syndrome.

UNKNOWN:

Okay.

SPEAKER_04:

I mean, that's, I'm Sam, but like, yes, yes, absolutely. I am, I am a victim for sure.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh my goodness. That, that gentleman will come around. And the reason why I look at it as a gentleman, it's because I respect imposter syndrome, senior imposter syndrome, because for me, it, it happens. Last week it happened. Here I was in front of all these people, and what am I going to tell them? I had a situation where one of my leaders just didn't want to connect with me. And why? What did I do to you? It was something completely that I didn't even think about. It was something that was impacting her. So we all get impacted by, am I good enough? We all get impacted by... if I do this, this may happen. And of course that will equate the fear. And one of the things that I started to do and it wasn't healthy, it was to run away from the fear and, and ignore it. And I think for me that was wrong. I think fear is a natural instinct, an emotion where it can actually benefit you. I mean, of course, I don't want to look like someone that has not prepared. So you're going to hear the fear factor of you better get yourself prepared, right? Like just like for here today. But then we also can leverage fear in a way that can help motivate us to, well, I don't want that to happen. I don't want this to go awry. I want to be able to be intentional as much as I can. And will I be enough? So fear is now a part of me. I've accepted it. As a way to help me in my journey. But then I also have to go back to the speech that President Roosevelt said on December 7th, back in 1941, when we were attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, that there's nothing to fear but fear itself. It's just an emotion. It's inside of us. What are we going to do with it? And when you look at the word emotion and you take away the E, that gives you emotion. So how are you going to move? How are you going to take that next step? And that's where awareness comes into play. What is your awareness? What do you know about you where you can go back and leverage what you know about yourself so that you can move forward?

SPEAKER_03:

Very, very good advice and very interesting. I know when you talk about trying to overcome anxiety and One of the things they talk about is just throwing yourself in the areas that cause anxiety for you. So it is very true. You just have to embrace it because it is clearly an emotion. And I know it's certainly easier said than done, but I think if we can all live by that, we would all be More successful, right? And happier people. But look at the number of people that have anxiety now. It's like 80%, right? It's crazy. It's just becoming much more prevalent. And it's all very much correlated with fear, right?

SPEAKER_01:

It is. It is. But I love the magic of a walk. A good old-fashioned, get your sneakers on, go around the corner. But a walk where... you've got a little bit of pep in your step, your shoulders are back, your head is up and you're looking straight ahead or maybe looking up and you're breathing through your nose and out through your mouth. And I think for me, that has allowed me to recognize, well, what are the values that I carry? What are the things that make up my battle rhythm? And I have to share with the three things that make up my battle rhythm. Now they may sound a little childish, but That's my convention, and that's me, because everyone's a little different. But to be smooth, to be agile, and most importantly, to be methodical. So for me, to be smooth is just taking intentional movements, whatever that may be. To be agile is, that's okay, let's change it up a little bit. Nothing says I have to keep my left foot planted all the time. Let's move that left foot. And then, of course, to put thought in what you're doing before you do it. And it could take a millisecond, but at least you took the opportunity to take that one little thought. One, just one. So to be smooth, to be agile, to be methodical, that is something that for me resonates quite a bit. Whenever I'm challenged, whenever senior imposter syndrome pops his head up, and whenever I find myself not myself. All right, Sam, let's get back to where you said you wanted to be intentionally.

SPEAKER_03:

Love that. So when you work with organizations on this issue, How do you work with them? Do you start with a type of workshop and you have everybody start journaling what motivates them? Give us some examples.

SPEAKER_01:

So one of the things for me that has been very important has been to go in any organization as objectively as possible. And I know it's hard to do because you have– and everyone's got it, the B word– And it's... I was

SPEAKER_04:

making sure I understood where you were going. Oh, yeah,

SPEAKER_02:

I know. I

SPEAKER_01:

know. I hear you. I hear you. Years ago, I grew up in Ramstein, Germany. My dad was in the Air Force. And it's a hard waiting list to get on base where everybody speaks English. But we lived in this little town called Katzweila. And in Katzweila, there was this... there was this little home that we lived at that was owned by a man and a woman, a wife and husband team, or high wife and husband, Heron Kennel and Frau Kennel. And I stumbled upon his workshop and I remember he would make coffins. So he was a World War II veteran fighting for the Germans, but he got picked up and he was in a POW camp in Washington state needing to learn how to become a carpenter. So that's how he learned his trade. Well, I started helping him a little bit and I actually picked up German. Well, when I'm in front of a class and I can't get their attention, I'll just start talking in German and people be like, you? What, you didn't think I could... And so you could see literally their face covered in that B word because it's like they have their stereotype. They have their thing that prevents them from getting beyond their thought. And so... Once again, you go into an organization and you got to be objective, but what can you do to put your biases to the side? And for me, I just do this little quick thing before I get off the car. And that quick little thing is take a deep breath, put my mind in a growth mindset, meaning that whatever comes out, comes out. So try to be your best at being open-minded, but most importantly, go with curiosity. What's interesting about curiosity is that it also comes from that same word that we use for cure. So what are you doing to try to cure or help? And so I just go with that curiosity quotient of wanting to help. But in order for me to do that, I'm going to have to be open-minded and keep those masses to the side. So it has helped. So when I walk in, I just ask lots of questions. Lots of questions. And I usually resonate those questions around four words. What, when, where, and how. But I never stay with the why. Why do you think that is?

SPEAKER_04:

I'm like really thinking.

SPEAKER_03:

I know because the why to me seems like that would be the most important, right? Is it because of the

SPEAKER_04:

personal why? It

SPEAKER_01:

could be both. Personal and organizational, because as soon as you start asking a why question, not to say it's off limits, but when you start asking why questions, it's like, why are you asking me that?

SPEAKER_04:

Sure. The defensiveness. Yeah,

SPEAKER_01:

absolutely. And especially when you come into someone's house, you're like, why is that sofa next to that window? Hey, that ain't your sofa and that ain't your window. Why are you asking me about where I place my furniture? So people, you don't want to put them in defense. Right. You definitely want to put them in a perspective where they want to share. And usually when they start sharing, that's where you got them. And not in a bad way, but in a way where I now know you. I know where you're coming from. I can see and hear those struggles that you're dealing with. And so then that leads to what prevents great performance in the workplace or even at home. What prevents one to be where they want to be at? Is it something that you don't know? Is it the environment? Is it whatever it may be? Well, let's talk about it. But most people want to share. So that's where I go.

SPEAKER_03:

Sorry about that. Wouldn't it have to go to the why if you're trying to understand what their purpose is? Oh,

SPEAKER_01:

it will go to the why. So what's interesting is that when you start to create that relationship personally, then... Now you can start asking those whys. And now those why questions mean so much because they really want to share now. So it's like, hmm, that's interesting. Tell me more about why you went that direction. Oh, well. And that's when you open the door for them to be able to share. But when you come in there with a why question, they'll definitely shut down and start getting defensive. That's why it's so important to create that relationship. And that segment of time can be as quick as 15 minutes.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. It's like I have so many... Are there places that I could lead now? So if we're talking about the why in different capacities, right? So personally, professionally, and then also saving it for certain areas of conversation and development to prevent defensiveness. What advice... do you have for, for leads department heads that are like trying to figure that out? And like more specifically the why piece, like if they are trying to discover what their why is, they're trying to lead by example and help others figure out what their why is. What's the advice to get started? How do we prevent these, the, the mix up from happening, prevent the defensiveness from coming if that's part of the role to, or part of the Part of the figuring out of the MQ.

SPEAKER_01:

Years ago, I had gone to Japan on a military assignment. I was stationed at Yokota for a few weeks. And it was my first time visiting Japan. I was just taken back by everything. Even like when you're flying and you're departing Tokyo, Narita. If you ever go, look outside the window and you're going to see all the ground crew lined up. And as the plane departs, they're bowing to the plane. I was like, oh my God, what motivates people to do that? If you ever decide to take the train, the Shinkansen, the bullet train, I was at a platform staring at a plane as it arrived. Everyone got out. And there was a team of about six people that were all dressed in pink. And they started at the top of the plane, of the train. And they went through that train in 10 minutes and it was like a six or seven car train set. And they had that thing clean. And I just like, what is it about them? Like what motivates them? So I quickly learned at engaging with a couple of the nationals that were in the office at Yokota. And one of the gentlemen mentioned something called ikigai. I-K-I-G-A-I. Ikigai. And what ikigai stands for in Japanese is reason for being. And as he talked and as he engaged with me, I was taken aback about this whole, I don't want to say process, but this thing. That it took a Westerner to put in a Venn diagram. So for the Japanese... Didn't have it in a Venn diagram, but this one guy was so inspired by it that he put it in a Venn diagram. So if you Google Ikigai, you'll get a Venn diagram. But basically the Venn or Ikigai resonates around four areas. So the first one is one that a lot of us, we actually misconstrue quite a bit because we think of it as, well, I mean, that's how I feel. I just have this euphoric feeling and that is passion. So a lot of us, we think of passion as this feeling of, oh, Hercules, Hercules, but it's not that at all. So in Europe, they practice these things called passion plays, which is the reenactment of Christ being crucified. Now, is that happiness? No, but what it does, it talks about his sacrifice and And what the benefit of it was just like kind of like working out. You work out, you run, you lift weights. It's hard. It's beating on your body. But when you're done, you feel great. You have a gift of being healthy. So passion is about what is it that brings some pain, but you know that at the end, it's going to give you your gift. So when you're starting out to figure out your why, one of the things you have to ask yourself is, what are you passionate about? What is it that gives me grief, heartache and pain, but at the end of the day, it's going to give you a gift. So then you go from passion to mission. And a lot of times too, we look at mission as a thing to do. But when the Spaniards arrived to the Western world, they started putting these places along like Texas, Mexico, South America called missions. And the purpose of the missions were to change those natives to good Catholics. Well, they were messaging something. And that's really what a mission is, is a message. So what is your message? What do people get from you when you're engaging? And one of the things for early leaders you got to do is get out there, get feedback from your peers, from your leaders to see, hey, what's going on there? What are you messaging? So then you go to what do you profess to say that you do? What's your profession? And then finally, what is your vocate or what is your calling? What is your vocation? And so when I coach people, especially young leaders, emerging leaders, I'll take them on a journey around leadership. their ikigai. What is their passion? What is their mission? What is their profession? And of course, what do they call to do? And that's the first start of really helping people define what is their true why. It takes a while and it's not an everyday experience or one week to the next. It takes a little bit, sometimes up to a year, depending.

SPEAKER_04:

This is all very insightful information because again, like what we're talking about in the beginning here was like, This question of start with your why or what is your why find out your why is so prevalent right now because there's no more checking anything at the door. It's still about professionalism and appropriate attitude right but there's no such thing as like leaving anything behind you are who you are, and biologically we can't do that. So there's so many different like roots that we can go down for this and it is an incredibly inspiring conversation about how motivation can be considered a question. the same way that intelligence and emotion can. So to kind of wrap up the conversation before we get to the fun stuff, what's one thing that you maybe think about when it comes to here's something I really want people to know about MQ and why it's important or how it works? What would that one thing to wrap it all up be?

SPEAKER_01:

The one thing one person can do is just be self-aware. The next time you get rattled, when you get excited, when someone maybe scare you, think about what was a trigger? What is it that actually moved you? And then you go from there, you start from there, and then it will start to generate some learning lessons for yourself about when are you most inspired? When are you most influenced? What is it that gets you up in the morning? Like having these conversations for me, I was so looking forward to this. This really just moves me because I love sharing my thoughts. But then at the same time, I love engaging with people, even as an introvert. So I was looking forward to this. And I know that that's that thing. I'm recognizing that that motivates me. So more to come and I can be intentional in where I want to go to be motivated.

SPEAKER_03:

I love that. Great way to wrap this up. Great conversation, Sam.

SPEAKER_04:

It is. Again, it's an inspiring topic to think of this as something else that can be developed and have like a measurable impact. something to it. So I love that. We are, well, man, what are we testing with the TTA-10? Is it motivational quotient? Is it, it's definitely not IQ. I mean, some of it might be, but we're going to have to call it your TTTQ. TTA 10 quotient.

SPEAKER_05:

It's

SPEAKER_04:

coming up. You know what, David? Can we just get the music, please? We're ready.

SPEAKER_00:

It's the TTA 10. 10 final questions for our guest.

SPEAKER_04:

So, once I finally got there, Sam, we're here for the TTA 10. 10 questions I'm going to ask you. You have 90 seconds to answer them. They are fun. They are playful. There are no wrong answers, but we do pass judgment on terrible answers, so make sure they're Good. And if you answer the questions in 90 seconds or less, you will be celebrated. You are in for a treat when it comes to that. Let me tell you, our man David is outstanding with his outros. But if you do not achieve that status, I'll give you something a little different. It might just have a different energy behind it, okay? But it's all in the name of good fun, and I promise it is a good time. So are you ready to participate, my

SPEAKER_01:

friend? I am ready. Let's make this happen.

SPEAKER_04:

All right, Sam. David. 90 seconds, please.

SPEAKER_00:

That's Jocelyn, 90 seconds on the TTA 10 o'clock beginning now.

SPEAKER_04:

Hey, Sam, what is your favorite color?

SPEAKER_00:

Air Force

SPEAKER_04:

blue. If you were a superhero, what superpower would you choose for yourself?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, laser beams coming right on my eyes.

SPEAKER_04:

What's your opinion? Should socks be worn with sandals?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, absolutely. Das ist gut. We saw it all the time in Germany.

SPEAKER_04:

Pick any number between 1 and 100. 50,

SPEAKER_01:

because that's when I really truly found my EQ and EMQ.

SPEAKER_04:

What is the name of the phobia that identifies a fear of spiders?

SPEAKER_01:

Arachnophobia.

SPEAKER_04:

The zombie apocalypse is coming. What's your weapon of choice?

SPEAKER_01:

Lots of water. I don't know why. Water.

SPEAKER_04:

Name a food that you hated as a child, but that you love now. Beets. Okay. What is six minus three? Three. Three. Where is the coolest place you ever traveled to with the Air Force?

SPEAKER_01:

Coolest place is Yokota, Japan.

SPEAKER_04:

If your ice cream melts, does it become a soup?

SPEAKER_01:

It sure does.

SPEAKER_04:

All right, well, there we have it. There's 10 questions. See, not that bad. David, what is the result, please?

SPEAKER_00:

With a score of one minute and just 20 seconds, Sam is indeed under the threshold and is a TTA 10 champion.

SPEAKER_03:

It actually seemed quicker than that.

SPEAKER_00:

It did, didn't it? Yeah, it did. Clock don't lie. I'm literally just going to

SPEAKER_04:

say that you beat me to it.

SPEAKER_00:

So we do have a special treat for Sam. We uncovered an obscure TV commercial that I think fits the occasion. And you'll understand when you hear it. Let's roll that tape. Here we go.

UNKNOWN:

Here we go.

SPEAKER_00:

Hello, everyone. I am Paco, owner and operator of Mexico Lama de Cedas. We hope you enjoy all the delicious food here in Argentina. But I'm really here to tell you about a man we call El Motivator, the motivator. Sam Caballero. He moved at first away from the table, but then he rolled the dice and sampled our delicious escamoles. And with every crunch of those delectable carpenter ants, he showed us the power of motivation. He taught us this theory on the concept of motivation and that if you look to the first two letters, M-O, you see the connection to other words like money, mobile, morale, motion, monkey, monster, mollycoddle. Moron. Maybe forget that last one. But learning from the coaching of El Motivator, we have taken the lesson of motivation here in those magical two letters. In fact, the names of every member of our staff starts with M-O. There's Mora, Moreno, Mohamed, Moses, Morris, Morgan, and Monty. So if you're asking yourself, what is your proposition? We propose you come to our restaurant and try some of our drinks and food. If you have enough of our margaritas, you might even be motivated to try this souffle, which is made of thick worm So just remember, if you are visited by the evil Señor Impostor, El Motivator is never far away. Remember the Alamo, enjoy your margaritas, and let us say together, Viva El Motivator! Gracias!

SPEAKER_03:

David, just when I thought you could never beat your previous ones, I think that was like one of the best, or the best. There's

SPEAKER_02:

most incredible creativity.

SPEAKER_03:

Sam, that could be your theme song. We will make it. that section and we'll send that to you so

SPEAKER_02:

that is amazing I love oh my god that is freaking a gift and a half thank you so much for that

SPEAKER_00:

we were talking before we started recording but I have a fondness for San Antonio haven't been married there so I hope that was viewed as a tribute and not cultural misappropriation apologies if it was no harm intended

SPEAKER_02:

no worries I love it man you made my day you all made my day thank you so much for this

SPEAKER_03:

opportunity oh it was fantastic no it actually just built upon sam's story so yeah it was very creative thank you so much sam again excellent episode on a very interesting topic so we appreciate you and we appreciate your time

SPEAKER_01:

i am so happy to get a chance to meet you as well seeing your story hearing about it definitely gives me that motivation that i need to continue on so thank you very much

SPEAKER_04:

To find out more about how the motivational quotient can positively impact your organization, visit us at thetrainingassociates.com. We'll see you later.