Is there a true measure of success? Although society, media, and some people would have us think otherwise, success is not defined by the number of material things you have amassed or how high you have risen in your career but is very much a personal measure. How we measure success is determined by many factors that affect our lives, our needs and aspirations as we move through the stages of life, and ultimately, how happy and satisfied we are with the life we are living.
Our guest today, Pete Vanderveen of Triumph Performance Academy, opens a discussion about success in business and in life. He challenges us to look at measures of success from a fresh perspective which encompasses not just individual success but also that of others and the community. Find out how Pete has dedicated his life to helping leaders become their best selves so they can create powerful teams and powerful businesses, and live empowered lives in a holistic way. If you’re looking for fulfillment in life and want to thrive as an entrepreneur and a family leader, then this is for you.
Key Points From This Episode:
Tweetables:
“To have a healthy company, we have to help individuals live their best life in a biblical principle.”
“Help people find true success by making them realize that they themselves are the value, not what they are accomplishing.“
“God didn't promise tomorrow; He gave us today. So, today I need to live and lead with love and I need to live with gratitude which means every moment counts.”
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Click to Find out more about our upcoming event: "Crafting Your Kingdom Investing Thesis"
About Pete Vanderveen
Ops Executive, Fractional COO, and Executive Coach Pete Vanderveen has a lifelong passion for helping and empowering businesses, teams and leaders. Pete founded Triumph Performance Academy, which helps high-performing men find fulfillment in life and thrive as fathers and husbands while maximizing their business success. He partners with high-level executives, leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs through one-on-one coaching to help them navigate their way through and flourish in sustainable businesses and careers.
Is there a true measure of success? Although society, media, and some people would have us think otherwise, success is not defined by the number of material things you have amassed or how high you have risen in your career but is very much a personal measure. How we measure success is determined by many factors that affect our lives, our needs and aspirations as we move through the stages of life, and ultimately, how happy and satisfied we are with the life we are living.
Our guest today, Pete Vanderveen of Triumph Performance Academy, opens a discussion about success in business and in life. He challenges us to look at measures of success from a fresh perspective which encompasses not just individual success but also that of others and the community. Find out how Pete has dedicated his life to helping leaders become their best selves so they can create powerful teams and powerful businesses, and live empowered lives in a holistic way. If you’re looking for fulfillment in life and want to thrive as an entrepreneur and a family leader, then this is for you.
Key Points From This Episode:
Tweetables:
“To have a healthy company, we have to help individuals live their best life in a biblical principle.”
“Help people find true success by making them realize that they themselves are the value, not what they are accomplishing.“
“God didn't promise tomorrow; He gave us today. So, today I need to live and lead with love and I need to live with gratitude which means every moment counts.”
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Click to Find out more about our upcoming event: "Crafting Your Kingdom Investing Thesis"
About Pete Vanderveen
Ops Executive, Fractional COO, and Executive Coach Pete Vanderveen has a lifelong passion for helping and empowering businesses, teams and leaders. Pete founded Triumph Performance Academy, which helps high-performing men find fulfillment in life and thrive as fathers and husbands while maximizing their business success. He partners with high-level executives, leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs through one-on-one coaching to help them navigate their way through and flourish in sustainable businesses and careers.
EPISODE 27
[INTRODUCTION]
ANNOUNCER: Imagine taking your generosity to the next level, impacting more lives, and leaving a godly legacy for generations to come. Get ideas and strategies to do just that when you listen to these personal stories from high-level Kingdom champions.
The Kingdom Investor Podcast showcases business leaders who have moved from success to significance, sharing how they use worldly wealth for Kingdom impact. Discover how they grew in generosity, impacted more lives, and built godly legacies. You'll find motivation, inspiration, and practical steps to grow as a Kingdom Investor.
Daniel White (DW): Welcome to The Kingdom Investor Podcast. This is your host Daniel White. Today we interview Pete Vanderveen. Pete has started over 10 business ventures and held multiple positions in large companies like Exxon Mobil. With his operational experience, Pete founded Triumph Performance Academy, which helps high-performing men find fulfillment in life and thrive as fathers and husbands while maximizing their business success.
If you enjoy listening to The Kingdom Investor Podcast, please give us a review. Connect with us on social media and be sure to share with your friends. Without further ado, let's get right into the show.
[INTERVIEW
DW: Welcome to The Kingdom Investor Podcast. This is your host, Daniel White. And today I have in the studio with me, Pete Vanderveen. Pete, would you say hi to our listeners?
Pete Vanderveen (PV): Hello, everyone. Thanks for having me, guys.
DW: Where are you coming from?
PV: I am based in Phoenix, Arizona.
DW: And I have my co-host, David Clinton. David?
David Clinton (DC): Hello, everybody.
DW: All right. Pete, would you start out by telling us a little bit about yourself? And you know, maybe, just a little bit about what you're doing now?
PV: Sure, yeah. So I've come from a pretty diverse background, I've spent over 20 years in different levels of executive positions. I've founded roughly a dozen companies spanning energy, fitness, real estate, leadership. And I've most recently stepped away from a Fortune five company. So I was running around five, no, $12 billion in operations across six countries and a thousand managers underneath me. And yeah, I think I know God's given me a hunger to lead. But all of that today leads me to a place that has kind of stepped me into the next realm, which is really providing leadership, training, and I call fractional CFO services. So I'm trying to provide billion-dollar expertise to companies of all sizes, and executives of all types and walks.
But I really want to help teach them what I've learned over the years which is really sound and how applicable the Bible is, how true the Bible is, applying biblical logic into brands, into business principles, and then taking fundamentals and stuff and in really helping turn companies around, multiply companies in terms of their impact, and their revenue. But also, to me, it has to come down to culture and for me, one of the things I focus on is really, God called us to love Him and love others. And if in our companies, we're not loving each other, if we don't have a culture of love, then we're failing. And if we don't have a culture of gratitude, and individually, if we don't have gratitude as a core principle, we're missing out on the beauty of life. So, that's really what has led me to what I've learned over the years through, through leading all these companies, and now it's what I focus on to help empower other companies and empower other leaders.
DW: Wow, that's, that's really cool, Pete. Before we dive into your story, do you mind praying for our listeners and, and this time together?
PV: I'd love to. Dear Lord, I just thank you for this time to hang out with my brothers and just talk about how all the ways that you've impacted my life and theirs. And Lord, I just thank you for guiding us. Lord, we can't always see the way but we know that if we stepped forward in faith, just trusting that you're going to provide like you did for Elijah in the valley. Lord, we don't always have everything our way. But if we just trust that it's your way, and it's a better way, we'll do well and we'll thrive. We just thank you for your promises. Thank you for the provision. I just thank you that we have hope. In Jesus' name, amen.
DC: Thank you, Pete. Well, we'd love to hear about your background and how you got to this place, a little bit more details of your career and maybe even growing up wherever you want to start.
PV: Yeah, let's start. So, I was a kid who grew up on a dairy farm. So, I was taught, you know, you work until you die. And it gave me a hunger and a work ethic. I was an athlete, played for Athletes in Action. I played basketball in Europe. And I got out of school with a business degree and it really gave me a hunger to do more. I just didn't know what that looked like. So, I got into the energy sector, I traveled all over the world. I've worked in the coldest climates on earth, and some of the hottest climates on earth extracting oil and gas. But I've always strove to get to the top.
And then, when I got to the top, I typically go and build another company, because I wanted to do it better. And I've done that in energy, I've done that in fitness, done that in real estate. And I just realized, now I feel like God is really maturing me into a place where he's prepared me through all these journeys to really realize that my hunger truly was to empower others and to help others find success but doing it at a holistic level. Because when I sought success on an earthly level, in a broken way, I was seeking approval, I was seeking KPIs, I was seeking financial success. And it never really gave me comfort or peace. It just led me to another problem.
And now I've really realized, in order to have a healthy company, we have to help individuals, like the company is the sum of the parts, and it's the sum of the human capital. So if we can help people live their best life in a biblical principle, whether you're a believer or not, the biblical principle still exist. But helping people really find true success by realizing that they themselves are the value, not what they accomplish is the value. And then that being the framework for everything, and that's what I've had to do for myself. And that's what I aim to teach people now. So yeah, for me, it was just it was company to company to company. My resume looks like I'm someone that's flighty per se, but I think my problem is, sometimes I had three or four companies at once.
But when I lost my energy companies, I always wanted to treat people better because it's an industry, blue collar, you run people until they die kind of an industry and I didn't like that way of treating people. I want to treat people like they're my brother. That's what we're called to do. I want people to realize, I've got your back. And as long as we have the same goals and initiatives, I'm not going to change that perspective. And that caused me to grow multiple companies because I wanted to do better. I didn't want to treat people like consumable products or like, or, you know, widgets or something that was disposable.
And then, I did that in the fitness industry too. We started up, I started up two companies. In 2014, I started up Eat the Frog fitness, which is a faith-based athletic company nationwide. But I was really trying to teach people how to become successful in their health and wellness, basing it on the principle of loving others and loving each other. And there again, the fitness industry, your number, your renewable monthly revenue stream but helping people realize like fitness isn't just superficial fitness, go to the core, and if loving people is at the core of your fitness, everything else will be multiplied through that. And then obviously, the real estate side,
I've learned multiple ways how not to do real estate. I've lost more money than I've made to date. But I've also realized now it's like I want to do it the right way which is what led me to the Kingdom REI, that's where David and I met. But for me, real estate is just another lever, another tool that we can bless people. We can bless people's finances, we can bless people's living, their standard of living. We can do so much through real estate which is at the heart of the community and then we can change the world and create kingdom impact. So, to me Kingdom impact has been there, you know, progressively over the years and now certainly now when I come and I provide this fractional COO services for other companies, I really bring billion-dollar expertise but I also bring a perspective that most people are like, oh wow, you want to focus on me and my company and it's like yeah, we got to help you be in the place you need to operate in, a place of overflow, living with love, feeling love, loving yourself, feeling gratitude and joy for all that you have. And now you can lead, you can inspire, you can change people's lives, you can change your corporate trajectory. A lot of people in this world, so many people are focused on the outward, on performance, on productivity, on milestones and that typically is the law of diminishing returns.
DC: A human doing rather than a human being.
PV: Absolutely. Yeah.
DC: That's amazing. It sounds like there was a different viewpoint of the past and now you're, you're aiming more at loving others and worrying about the whole person. Was there a catalyst for that change in your mindset over the years?
PV: I think it was definitely part of my upbringing. Like, I grew up, I definitely didn't have an easy walk. I was kind of “A Boy Named Sue”, grew up insecure, grew up angry, grew up kind of abandoned, and a lot of betrayals and stuff. And I got married, and life got really tough. And I had to go through my own healing, and realize that, in order for me to be a better husband, to be a better father, I had to learn to love myself. And no matter how much success I had outwardly if I had a deep core of hatred, and of dissatisfaction, and anger, there was no amount of lipstick that I could put on to sugarcoat it. So, I really had to go through that healing myself, that transformation that made me realize, like when I operate out of a place of abundance, and I love people because I love myself, I'm able to have an impact.
But I think most people today don't realize that you can't fake it till you make it. And if you don't love yourself, and I think men and women struggle with this, but if you don't love yourself, you're never gonna love your wife, or your husband, you're never gonna love your kids. You're never gonna love your family the way that you're capable of because you're operating out of a place that you don't have. You don't have the power plant. Because if your power plant is based on anger and hatred and self-deprecation, how on earth can you speak the language of love? Like, they're two different dialects, right?
DC: Yeah. That's powerful.
DW: So it sounds like you have been very successful in many different industries and different businesses. Is there maybe a key to that success that you've seen in all of those different areas?
PV: Yeah, I think, I think success sometimes is ambiguous, there's a lot of ambiguity in that term. I think I've had success in some of the wrong ways and some of the right ways. But I think the thing that I feel like sets me apart is I just have a heart for other people, I have a protective spirit. And when I ran the fortune five division, I saw 10,000 people working there that were not treated, or didn't realize they mattered, or they didn't feel like there was value to who they were. It was always performance based. And when I started to invest into them, it created a multiplier effect. But it also was the same as what I needed to do with my own life, which I realized like my value, who God says I am isn't my performance. It's who I am as his son and the promises over my life that matter.
So I think for me, even when I was early on post-college like I always found myself making steps or even stepping away from ownership and companies because I didn't like the integrity route that they were headed in. From that, it cost me dearly. But I just felt like it was something I had to do to go to bed at night and sleep and feel comfortable with my decisions. And I feel like now it's really led me to a place where now I can speak to billion-dollar companies, and tell them why this stuff matters. Whether they're a believer or non-believer, I know I have the confidence knowing that this is logic. This is sound principle, these are biblical principles. But they're imperative for success and true success, not just a superficial, man, we won that round, like this is like lifelong success.
DC: You mentioned the ambiguity in the definition of success. How would you define success?
PV: I'd like to explain why the success definition is wrong, and then how I see it right. But I think success is not success if you see it as a milestone. If success for you is reaching a certain pinnacle or reaching a certain, you know, just a collection of finances, or a collection of assets or whatever it is like that. Success should never be a point on the map. Like success is a journey. Life is a journey. And I think you have to focus on realizing that every day should be successful, every moment. We're given 86,400 moments to live. So, we should realize that every moment is a gift. I think the problem is one of the things, I really focus on is we need to focus on being active, present, and engaged which is really an intentional living in the moment.
God didn't give us tomorrow, he gave us today. He didn't promise tomorrow, he gave us today. So, today I need to live with, lead with love and I need to live with gratitude which means every moment counts. I think we're in a society where inside the church and outside the church we strive for, well, when I get there, then XYZ or when I accomplish this, that XYZ or when I get married, when I have kids, when I retire. Well, it's like, we're still missing the mark, which is, success is that I lived, I played to the whistle today, I learned a lot today, I grew a lot today. I celebrate a lot today and today was rewarding. Success needs to be momentary. It can't be, you know, periodic, because if it's periodic, then what is now till the end looks like?
DW: Success will always exist in the future.
PV: Right. Yeah.
DC: So with that definition, and that framework that you've painted, what have you seen the most success, the true success in your life?
PV: I think, I've certainly had financial success. I've also had financial ruin. Obviously, my fitness company with COVID took its knees out in a big way. But I think success for me really helped me get to a place where my success is agnostic of whether my company is worth $30 million pre-COVID to $10 million post-COVID and those types of scenarios. To me success is how can I get out of bed in the morning and feel energized to make a difference. Realize, like I'm the one holding the lever to make a difference in the world. I don't need to wait on someone else. But realizing like I can be the rising tide that raises all the ships in the harbor. How can I make this world a better place? How can I even induce success for you guys, or anyone that I come into contact with. Realizing like I'm the thermostat, not the thermometer. And so to me, success is also a proactive thing where it's like, I can go create success, because I can go make other people feel like they matter. Like I saw them like I want to love on them, because they're my brother, they're my sister.
But I think, for me, I've learned that success is a proactive step. And it's about the holistic experience. And if I can go and help other people see that then that's success in its own right. But I think for me, I've had to learn that success didn't quite mean financial comfort all the time, success sometimes meant like I have peace. And I have an amazing family, I have an amazing wife, even though the finances aren't working right now.
DC: Yeah, so a whole mindset shift, not just a destination, and not even just a journey of actions, right? But your whole mindset has changed and success for the community almost. That's awesome.
DW: So, Pete, you were talking about earlier on, the first time you got into real estate, it didn't go so well. Is there a lesson that we can learn from that moving forward?
PV: Yeah, actually, it's a funny thing. I had another podcast this morning where it was, tell us your failures. It was like they wanted to know about your fails, not about your successes in real estate. So, this is my second go at it. But I think I was kind of a hold-my-beer kind of guy growing up. And at one point, I bought a 60-acre parcel of land on the outside of town with a lake. It was beautiful, it's all wooded, and I was gonna build a house there for my family. And then that changed. The next thing I was like, well, this would be a beautiful subdivision. So, I proceeded to go at it alone. I funded the whole thing myself, I did all the infrastructure, got the entitlement done. And just as I was ready to hit the vertical phase, the market tanked and I couldn't carry it. I didn't have, I was equity-rich and cash poor at the time, and it just smoked me. And one of the things that really taught me is really the collaborative environment that helps real estate teams thrive which is if you try to go at it alone if you try to do it all yourself, A, you're gonna learn the hard way, you're not gonna learn from someone else.
You don't have guidance, you don't have support and obviously, capital can be a problem as well. But for me, I think the real estate world is full of people that are very, kind of, realtor-minded, they're individuals or broker-minded, they're individuals. And they operate, everyone wants to do it and kind of reinvent their own wheel so to speak. For me, that gave me exposure that caused me to lose significant equity on that. I basically sold it for my costs as an exit but it taught me that the next time it's like, I'm going to find the most powerful team. We're going to go at this together. I'm gonna learn from the other people but they're also going to be able to help me. They can cover my back, they can help me where I'm not able to focus. When we collaborate, it's going to create more success than if I tried to solo this.
DC: Real estate's a team sport; it's the ultimate lesson there, huh? Where would you say you find the most meaning and significance in your life? Especially thinking as we move away from worldly definitions of success, so for you, what is the most fulfilling thing about your life?
PV: I think the thing that's most fulfilling is, it's a two-fold thing. I think it's most fulfilling because I feel it and it's most fulfilling because I'm able to help other people find it. But the thing that's most fulfilling for me is just realizing that, that I have a God who loves me and have a father who loves me. And no matter what I'm in, I can turn to him and I can find peace, even though I don't have the answers. Being a type A hard charger like myself, like it's a hard place to be when you don't have the answer when you are kind of determined to find the answer kind of person. So that's, that's really given me the ability to grow and heal and become, you know, a better father, a better husband, a better friend and a better son.
But I think it's also imperative that, for me, I have a passion now to be that person to the next person that I always wished I had found when I was younger. Those times where I was in a bind, those times I felt abandoned, those times where I felt like the world didn't hear me, didn't see me, no one was there. I didn't have someone to call because no one even understood what I was going through whether I was in business, whether I was running millions or billions.
There are times when you feel lonely. And when they say you're lonely on top, it's true. There are many times we find ourselves in places in life where we feel like, shoot, I don't even know who to call. For me, now, that's all given me a passion that it's like, I want to be that, whether it's that teenager, you know, that sophomore or senior in high school, it's struggling with life, or whether it's a business executive, feeling the pressures of the world, or it's my father trying to manage family and a rocky marriage, whatever it is, it's like, I want to be that guy that can help walk through that with the next person.
DC: That's awesome. It sounds to me, like, your identity has, has been found, where before in the young years, you're maybe floundering and struggling, and now, you know, your identity is in Christ. And that feeds out into so many other areas of life.
PV: Absolutely.
DC: That's awesome.
DW: So I know, we talked a little bit about failure, but what's the greatest investment that you've ever made?
PV: Are we talking financial or are we talking...?
DW: Wherever you want to go? Maybe one of each.
PV: I think the biggest investment, the most valuable investment was actually into myself. I think, because I was so performance-driven, you get caught into driving, driving until the wheels fall off to see, to see success. And I think when I stopped, and I realized, in order for me to have more success, I need to stop. I need to back up and then reevaluate what I'm doing. And then find the coaching, find the healing, find the growth to make me a better person. And I think a lot of people are like, I'll invest in my kids, I'll invest in my company. And we don't stop to fill up. We don't stop to recharge. We don't stop to fill up our own tanks. Or we think we know it all. But I think for me, the more I learned to stop and invest in myself and just slow down and just try to hear what God had for me and remind myself of the promises he had for me. That made me more equipped for life, for success, for these achievements. And it also prepared me, maybe not prepare me, but it made me more tolerant of the times where things weren't working out because I'd put in the groundwork, I built the foundation that I was able to make it through these rocky times.
DW: What about financial investment?
PV: Tell you the truth, I'm still waiting. Like I said, I had put a lot, I invested heavily, I founded a fitness company and it was on its way up and then COVID hit and now it's kind of a rocky ride at this point. And then real estate like I lost several million when things didn't work out. So, I'm kind of, I'm a late bloomer, put it that way where I'm waiting for something to hit.
DC: Is your fitness company coming back after COVID as things open up and the world gets normal again, or is it a different dynamic now?
PV: It's a bit of both. Some states are still quite restricted, especially up in like the Northeast. There's a lot of states that are still COVID restrictions, capacity restrictions. The marketplace has also shifted where large gatherings you know, the big bowl, fully packed fitness centers are a thing of the past. So you got smaller classes, smaller, obviously, smaller membership basis. So for us, we're going through a big revamp to really reduce the capital input on the models, shrink the model, make it more profitable, also dive more into technology in the autonomous side of the equation. So yeah, it's forced us to adapt. And it's always just trying to, hope we got more check than month.
DC: Yeah. So our listeners want to take their generosity to the next level. They're interested in impacting more lives and also leaving a godly legacy. In your experience, what is a key to growing in generosity?
PV: I think there's, there's a passion that comes alive in a person when you realize that you have empathy for them. And it's not where you see someone in a sympathetic manner but you see someone in an empathetic manner. So you've been through what they are, you can, you can understand what they're going through. Because when you bless someone, and you see that as your ability to bless upon them, and this, this applies to leadership, this applies to everything. But it's like if I want to build a company, and I want to everyone that comes along for the ride, like I want to improve all of their, their livelihoods, their financial aspects, their marriages, their kids, I just want to bless upon them, and I want to be that rising tide in the harbor. That makes me feel good, it makes me feel amazing. And it had very little to do with the money.
And, I think it's easy to just put money into, you know, into a collection plate or put money into, you know, a nonprofit, but I think there are two ways of investing and one is financially, one is like giving of yourself where you're actually like, you're the hands and feet of Jesus where you're helping these people feel alive. And you become the person that also comes alive because you realize how much of an impact you had on them. And I think it comes back to it's like those marketing. I know you and I were in Orlando a while back. But you know, the topic was the "know, like and trust", right, the marketing trifecta. Well, how do we show people Jesus' love if they don't, if people don't get to know us, people don't get to like us and people don't get to trust us, if we just throw money at them. We're not doing any of the three. If we help people realize like, we love them and then we want to steward our finances and invest into them, that makes the money go exponentially further.
DC: Yeah, being generous with our time and our attention and influence with people not just throwing grant or write a check, right? Awesome. What do you personally invest in to make the greatest impact in the world around you?
PV: I'm a big donator of time. I try to help anyone and everyone. I have a heart for marriages. I have a heart for struggling youth. We've always had our home open for respite, just bringing in troubled youth and stuff. So it's been a lot of fun just mentoring them. I'm a sucker for World Vision and Compassion. My fridge is, every time I get another applicant, it's like, gosh, so I have another one on the list. I have a small tribe somewhere. But I think for me, honestly, my true heart is to find the people that aren't seen. Like I don't like to find the traditional avenues. I like to invest by seeing someone I know historically. If I knew someone couldn't pay rent, but no one else knew, I was like, can I help that person? Or if I know someone, you know, they don't have a vehicle, let's find them, let's find a way to help them. But it's like, I like to find those people that other people are overlooking. I like to find ways of making someone's life better than they would never have expected.
DC: Yeah, that's awesome. When you think about, say the next 50 years, if you can be remembered for one thing, what would that be?
PV: That's a good question. Actually, I always tell people to talk about their eulogy and now, I'm on the spot. I think I want to be that guy that everyone was that it was like, when everyone thought the chips are down, it's like, I showed up for that person.
DC: That's awesome. Love that.
DW: So before we enter the mentor minute, is there anything else that you'd like to share with our audience that might be helpful?
PV: The number one thing that I feel like I want to compel upon people is just to realize like, we're so blessed to have such a loving father. And really, it's until not until we start to use the power and the talents that he gave us, which is really starts with love. So all of our talents don't mean anything, our spirits don't mean anything if we don't have love. So I think we, as I always call upon Christians, that is like we, if we don't, we can preach the word but if we don't love people, like if we don't truly go to that guy at the corner and put our hand on his shoulders and say, hey, man, I love you, I hope you have a great day and help him in whatever shape or fashion. But if we don't love people, like all of our works are pointless.
And I think we could do a lot better where we just love people, not because we agree with them but we know that person that has no alternative lifestyle, it's like, I still love them for who they are. And I can agree to disagree, but I still love them, I have empathy for them. And, they're a person that believes right, just like me. So, I think the way we change the world is to really help other people realize that we're so deeply loved that I can't help but love everyone. Not some but all because I just feel like I've been loved more than I can imagine. How can I not pass it on? Because my vessel is overflowing.
DW: Alright, so who is the most influential person that you know? And how have they impacted you?
PV: You've got me stumped there for a second.
DW: There's probably just a lot of people to choose from.
PV: Yeah, there is. It's a lengthy list. I would say, I'd just name Jesus because it's, it's easy, but it's also I want to go deeper on it. I think there's so much that we don't realize that because we don't understand Jewish culture. But I think when you when you see that he walked the three-mile per-hour pace all the time, he had laser focus as to where he was going. I don't want to get into the weeds, but the way that he loved on people and the way that he challenged people without calling them out, he just questioned them. Rarely did Jesus condemn anyone except for the Pharisees. But even at the lady at the well, I was always taught to think that she was a scandalous woman. If you really look into it, she was a woman that had been abandoned legally by five men. Because she couldn't leave, they forced her out. The sixth man wouldn't commit to her because he was just using her for, for, you know, for whatever she had to offer. And he wouldn't commit to her. Jesus came to her and said, six men have failed you, but I'm the seventh man and you'll never, you'll never thirst again. So just the way that he, he always went over and above to find people to come alongside people to bless people. That just challenges me every day to not have some preconceived notion or to discredit someone for my own belief, but just to call his coming. First love them, then get to know them and then see how I can bless them in any way, shape or form.
DW: Yeah, that's really good. Worth it. All right. So the next question is, what book or podcast has changed the course of your life?
PV: I'm trying to think of what's on my bookshelf. I would say the Seven Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen Covey was a solid one. Just everything from seeking to understand before being understood to, to just a lot of his principles that help us, you know, it's inward versus outward.
DW: Yeah. Yeah, I liked that book, too. And then finally, what is the greatest leadership lesson that you've ever learned?
PV: The greatest leadership lesson I've ever learned was, I think, firsthand sometimes how not to lead. I've seen a lot of people that led that I think we see it. It's all across politics these days of people that it's status, not leadership. But, I think true leaders are people that move the needle for other people. So, me as the leader, my job is to help the next person achieve success. And when they like, when I had a thousand reports, if I can make a thousand people successful, that's what gave me success. Yeah, rather than leadership being that I needed those thousand of people to make me successful.
DW: Yeah, that's good. And there's no way you could be a thousand times more successful, but you could make everybody else just a little bit more successful. Yeah, that's good. All right. Is there any way that we can be praying for you or help you in accomplishing your vision and helping other people?
PV: Yeah, I think obviously, my mission is to really add value to teams. I focus mainly on male leadership, but I'm always looking to connect with people and to, obviously take people, take corporations, take teams to the next level. But in doing so helping that helping those leaders achieve the most enjoyment in their life, maximizing their relational success and their own personal success, and their family success, and, and even their faith walk, those are all things that are important to me in this time of my life. So obviously, networking is a huge part of that. And, but I think it's to me, it's like, a lot of people come to me and they're like, hey, I want to work on my business. But when we work on them and their business, that's when the magic happens. It's just it becomes exponential at that point.
DW: So how can listeners find you or connect with you?
PV: Well, I've got a website. It's TriumphPerformanceAcademy.com, and I'm on LinkedIn. That's kind of my primary two platforms.
DC: All right. Pete, thank you so much for your time today. It's been an enjoyable conversation. And I know I got a lot out of it. And I'm really hoping our listeners did too.
PV: Thanks, David.
DW: David, do you mind praying to close this out?
DC: Absolutely. Yes. Dear God, thank you so much for your grace and for your mercy. Thank you for the opportunity to get together with people from across the country, and learn from them and just fellowship and grow together as we hopefully become more like you God. Please bless Pete and his work and his ministry, as he serves others, loves others, helps work on their whole person, not just their business and their behaviors and what they're accomplishing in life. In Jesus' name, amen.
[END OF INTERVIEW]
[OUTRO]
ANNNOUNCER: What if you could take your generosity to the next level, impacting more lives in your community and around the world, creating a godly legacy for generations to come?
Now you can. Your first step is crafting your kingdom investing thesis. Reserve your spot in our next online workshop where we guide you through the process of discovering your passions, create a strategic plan and connect you to opportunities that will help you fulfill your God-given calling as a kingdom investor. Register today by clicking the link in the show notes.
Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe and we'll see you next time for another episode of The Kingdom Investor Podcast.
[END]