Communication is an integral part of our daily lives. Unfortunately, we often neglect to appreciate and honor the person with whom we talk. From how we react to others to how we pray to God, we forget that listening is just as essential as speaking.

In today’s show, we listen to Bart Christian’s simple solutions to many problematic areas of our lives. He discusses practical steps we can apply today to improve our communication skills with others. He also encourages us to improve our attitudes toward our lives and the things that happen to us. Bart also talks about the school nutrition industry and shares a story about legend Zig Ziglar.

Make sure to tune in to the podcast to learn more about positive attitudes to adopt, as well as the steps to improve communication.

3 Reasons to Listen:

1. Know more about undervalued niche industries, such as school nutrition.
2. Discover the simple steps to good communication you can apply today.
3. Learn how to improve your attitude toward business, life, and God.

Resources

• Simple Solutions by Bart Christian
• See You At The Top by Zig Ziglar
• The Success Principles by Jack Canfield

About Bart

Bart Christian is the Founder and CEO of Southwest Training Systems Inc. and  SchoolFoodHandler.com, leaders in the school nutrition industry. He is also the author of a top-selling book series called Simple Solutions. Aside from being a business coach, he is a nationally recognized speaker and expert in leadership communication. 

If you want to reach out to him, the best way is through his organization’s website. Alternatively, you can contact him through his Facebook or Twitter.

Episode Highlights

The School Nutrition Industry

• There are about 100,000 public schools across the United States.
• Lunch ladies are heroes as they provide nutrition for children.
• Some regulations have pushed change toward more processed food instead of nutritionally sufficient home-cooked meals.
• A hungry child cannot function. Sadly, nutrition is not viewed as an essential part of the education program.
• The average child in the public school education system only has 11.5 minutes to eat.

Present Health Issues

• Allergens are on the rise in our society.
• Vaccination isn't bad, but we live in a hyper-vaccination culture.
• We now live in an age where we’re terrified of getting sick.

Bart’s Personal Start

• As a general manager, his company started buying other companies. One business that was only a fraction of their profit became extremely profitable.
• Bart went to Arizona to start a distributorship. His best friend, who was going to be his business partner, died on one of their trips.
• It was difficult for him to move forward, but God answered his prayers.
• Tune in to the full episode to listen to Bart’s story about God’s plan for him!

Experiences in Business

• Southwest Training Systems is his core business, and they provide materials for public school cafeteria environments.
• It took an estimated 3–5 years to build the company. As if it was God’s plan, business suddenly boomed at the end of their fourth year of operation.
• All of his speaking and writing experience evolved from his experience in the school nutrition niche.
• There is power in writing something on paper, which is why he keeps a daily journal.

Challenges in Business

• The obvious challenge in starting any business is money.
• You have to be creative in how you acquire and spend money.
• Budgeting is also essential.
• He feels he performs better under pressure instead of a calm environment. Unfortunately, this resulted in self-sabotage.

“I have taken bad situations and made them exponentially worse, just by saying a couple of things. But if I took a deep breath and thought about what I was going to say, it would have turned out a lot better.” - Click Here to Tweet This

Bart’s Daily Routine

• He prayed a lot and woke up early every day to read the Bible or something inspirational.
• Meditation helped him gain peace and overcome the challenges in his life.
• Reduce the noise in your mind.
• God does not compete with the noise of the world. You can only listen to His voice when you are quiet.

Insights on Zig Ziglar’s Attitude

“Look at other people as if they're important, and honor what they say.” - Click Here to Tweet This

• Zig Ziglar is a huge factor and inspiration in his life.
• When you listen to someone, think about how important they are to you and how much you honor them.
• We focus too much on what we’re going to say next instead of listening intently. There is a difference between listening to hear and listening to apply.
• There are more good people in the world than bad.
• Look at everyone you come in contact with, no matter who they are. as if they have a sign around their neck that says, “Treat me as if I'm important.” 

“There are vastly more good people in the world than there are bad. And those people who spend their lives focused on watching the news, reading the paper—absorbing all the bad stuff that's going on in the world—their natural reaction is to think the worst of everyone.” - Click Here to Tweet This

The Steps to Good Communication

• The first step is to treat others with importance and appreciate what other people have to say.
• The second step is to experience gratitude.
• The third step is to forgive. Forgiveness is a decision

“Good communication is simply built on a habit of appreciation for the other person.” - Click Here to Tweet This

Attitude Toward Changing for the Better

• Learning is a decision, and communication is a skill you can develop. Unlearn the mindset that you cannot change and everyone else is the problem except you.
• What are your happiness and peace worth?
• You cannot control your circumstances and situations, but you can control how you react to them. E + R = O. Events plus your Reaction equals Outcome.
• Think before you say something to improve situations.
• We have things inside of us that came from God for us to give to other people, and it’s our job to ask his guidance.

“I used to look at the big groups and go, ‘How can I get all these people on my side?’ But when I stopped, and I said, ‘How can I make sure that I don't miss that one person in this audience that needs this message?’ Everything changed.” - Click Here to Tweet This

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To growing and becoming all we are created to be,

Tim