Byte: Chip Scholz ~ The Miracle At The Gas Pump!

Chip tells a story of coincidence or synchronicity, or perhaps one of the Universe placing him exactly where he needed to be at the perfect moment. His story reminds us that if we keep our eyes open and our hearts wide, miracles will absolutely happen!

Transcript

Hi, Everyone, And welcome back to the podcast. I'm going to apologize for the delay in dropping this episode, But I got back from a working gig, A contract gig, And was a little under the weather. So I decided to take a few days to get back in tip top shape. And so I'm dropping this podcast on a Tuesday, Instead of last Sunday. All those excuses aside, I am very excited to introduce my guest this week, Chip Scholls. And yeah, Besides for discovering that we kind of have lived in the same little patch of the world, Chip is someone who personifies resilience, Strength, And coming back from something that might seem insurmountable at first glance. But a little bit about Chip, Who is, Among many other things, An executive coach, Author, Storyteller, And student of handoffs, Which is the moment you understand that responsibility, Identity, Leadership, And eventually legacy pass from one person to another. We talk about when he experienced his stroke and what it looked like to emerge from that and heal from that. But we also talk about how a layoff later in life gave him an unexpected reset. We also happily talk about woodworking. And I discuss how I was absolutely terrified by the lathe in eighth grade shop class. But Chip talks about it, And helps me to understand that woodworking has helped change his life. So now woodworking fears aside, Here's my very next episode of the podcast. I can point to seeing a ghost when I was in the fraternity house years ago, And alcohol was not involved, But we had eye contact. We had an old house that was built on another foundation from a house that was an orphanage that burned down and and so some of the kids were still there and and you ran into them every once in a while. Where was that? Was that in Illinois? Yeah, Bloomington, Illinois. Yeah, It doesn't exist anymore. The fraternity house has been torn down. It's a parking lot for a hospital now, But at one time, That's the way it was. But, You know, There's been so many things over the years, You know. I think my favorite story is I was getting the business started and I was, You know, Running out of money pretty quick. And I had been working hard to try to get business on board and get the business started. And I was at a gas station one evening, And I just looked up and I said, God, Can you help me? I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I think I've been doing everything right. I'm doing all the calls. Doing what I think I should be doing. And I said, Just give me a sign that I'm going the right direction. And, You know, That there is there is a light at the end of the tunnel instead of an oncoming train. And, You know, About that time, Some guy stuck his head around the pump. And it was a guy that I've been trying to get to see for six months and and He pokes his head around the corner. He was a city manager of the town that I lived in. And he said, He said, Chip, Is that you? And I said, Yeah. And he said, He made some offhand comment about paying for his gas, You know, Because I lived in the same town that he was city manager of. And it's like, Already I'm paying so many taxes that I'm already paying your gas. But anyway, He said, You know, I know you've been trying to get in touch with me. He said, You know, Can you be in my office in the next day or two? And I'd like to talk to you. To you about what we can do together. And a couple days later, A guy that I had known, One of the first people I did business with called and said, Hey, That thing you did, Can you help this office out and can you help this office out? And then another guy called. And it's funny because this person has been in my life for 25 years. He's still a big part of what I do. He's with another company now, But at the time he was running his own thing and he said, Hey, Listen, I can't tell you what it's about yet, But I'll give you a call. I've got this company I'm going with and I know they need what you have. It was, You know, It was just like the switch turned on and instead of going and finding a job or, You know, Doing something else, It just started to happen. Wow. Wow. And who would have thought that it would have happened at the gas pump? I mean, It can happen anywhere. It can happen anywhere. Yeah, You don't have to be in a church. You don't have to be sitting in a pew. You don't have to be kneeling. I have a different view of religion, And my view of religion is it's not the punitive, God hates me and is going to punish me kind of view. It's the, You know, Why? Why would he be like that? I mean, That's the Old Testament God. And when you look at Jesus and what Jesus said, He preached love. He didn't preach eternal damnation. And the more you read about the early church, The more you find out that the reason that they started preaching eternal damnation and hellfire was to put butts in seats. And because of this, If they could scare you like crazy, And the way of salvation was to come and sit in church. Well, Then you were gonna come and sit in church. I just, I don't believe that. I think that God wants the best for me. And I'm not always the best. I do stupid things. I do, Yeah, Certainly what would be called wicked things at times, But you know. Yeah, I think they all got accounted for that, Right? Yeah, Absolutely. Really beautifully stated, By the way. It's so clear to me through this conversation that you are someone and maybe this was hard one or hard fought, But you just seem or appear to be someone who's kind of unstoppable, Frankly, And optimistic. But also. Really? You carry a positivity about you that probably, You know. Brushes off on everyone around you, Which is something that we need in this world. Now, Can I ask you? This is how I see you. Do you think? This is your essential nature? Is this how you've always been? And then of course, I've never had a stroke, But coming back from a stroke is no joke. But I think it helps if you have an unstoppable spirit and you have optimism. And so I'm wondering if those traits inside of you helped you to heal. There's a great book called The Second Mountain by David Brooks, And if you ever get a chance to read it, And it talks about the two mountains we climb and the first mountain is, You know, Money and fame and all that kind of stuff. And then somewhere along the line, You have a crisis, You know, Could have been I got laid off in May of 98. And we changed our life considerably moved from LA to North Carolina, We opened businesses and all that kind of stuff. So maybe that was the maybe that was one of the mountains or maybe the health crisis was a mountain. But The second mountain is about meaning and purpose. And I'm in. And some people never go through that valley and never have that crisis. But, You know. If you do go through that, If you do have that issue. How do you come out on the other side? And the other side is meaning and purpose. It's similar to to retirement. You know, I don't ever see myself retiring. But the next stage is depression. Because it's like, I don't have to do anything. And you've lost your identity. Anyway, And then there's third stage is meaning and purpose. Well, You know, I mean, You've got to go through some kind of fire to to have meaning and purpose. Yeah, Yes, You know, I've had conversations with people who've retired and You know, Funnily enough, So many of them say, I am busier now than I was before I was working. And trying to live a life. And I think that's because they've discovered that to, You know, Lift themselves up. Being busy, Contributing, Having a hobby, Participating in community, It kind of snowballs and it's kind of like the gift we give ourselves after we retire. I have to say that. I mean obviously you're not retired, You're, You're just like out there blazing a path for the rest of us, Which can be exhausting. Really, I don't know, Nurturing. It's, It's, Or nourishing, I guess is what I want to say, Because, You know, You can see your work in action as, As your clients go out into the world and become their better selves, You know, Step into their purpose. I mean, Is, Is that partially why you do it? It must be so inspiring to witness that. That is why I do it. Yeah. And it kind of goes to my purpose, And my purpose is I live to develop people. So that's what I do. All day long. And it doesn't matter whether it's woodturning. I'm the president of the North Carolina Woodturners Association. I teach woodturning on the weekends. And it's not about me being the best turner that I can possibly be, But it's helping people to be the best they can be. And so part of that is people, I'm a people too, So I have to be the best that I can be so I can help others be the best they can be. Because I can't give what I don't have. You know, And what I mean by that is. That if I've got no fuel and tank, Then I'm going to be hard pressed to move anybody else. I think, Chip, That you just dropped the mic and walked away. Has anyone ever said that to you before? No, No, But thank you. And that's it, A wrap on my conversation with Chip. I'm so grateful to Chip for sharing all his stories, For sharing about his journey, And how life's twists and turns can sometimes lead us to exactly where we need to be. I want to thank all of you for listening. This podcast makes me so happy to produce. I get to meet incredible humans like Jip, And then I get to share their stories with the world. So if you like what you're hearing, Please do consider leaving a rating or writing a little review. Thank you for listening, And here's my one request. Be like Chip. Don't ever give up, But also be willing to go with those twists and turns in life. You never know when the unexpected layoff or the unexpected event is exactly what you needed to change and reorient your life. We're all looking to live. Rich, Abundant lives. And sometimes it seems that life has other plans for us. But if we go with the flow and step back and consider. Most times, Life deposits us exactly where we need to be, So that we too can thrive. Can step into our own and become blessings for everyone around us.