Merril Hoge, a former NFL running back and ESPN broadcaster, shares his extraordinary journey of resilience and personal growth in this episode of my One Big Thing Podcast.

Our discussion centers around Hoge's life philosophy encapsulated in the phrase "Find a way," which has been his guiding mantra since he was twelve years old.

Through personal anecdotes, Hoge reveals how this philosophy propelled him through challenges such as a career-ending injury, severe depression, and a cancer diagnosis that required extensive treatment.

You will be drawn into Hoge's world, where he emphasizes the importance of taking ownership of one’s circumstances rather than succumbing to victimhood. He illustrates that the act of taking ownership is essential for personal happiness and success, encouraging listeners to confront their own challenges head-on.

Through Hoge's experiences, the audience learns that life’s adversities can often lead to unexpected paths and opportunities, shaping us into who we are meant to be.

Takeaways

• Merril Hoge emphasizes the importance of taking ownership of your life choices and actions.
• You must actively engage with your circumstances instead of blaming others to find peace and happiness.
• Every setback can be a setup for a comeback if you approach it with the right mindset.
• Daily routines can help you maintain mental control and clarity in difficult situations.
• Visual reminders of your goals can inspire action and help you stay focused on your journey.
• You can either let your mind control you, or you can take charge of your thoughts.

_____________________________________________

About Merril

Merril played in the NFL for eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears; he was also a football analyst for ESPN for 21 years.

Hoge is an inspirational speaker who speaks nationwide, impacting people and companies to grow through self-reflection and taking action to Find Their Way.

He is also on the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research board and a member of the NFL Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee.

In 2018, Hoge helped launch Your Call Football and is the author of Find a Way: Three Words That Changed My Life and Brainwashed: The Bad Science Behind CTE and the Plot to Destroy Football.

Hoge continues to find new ways to make a positive impact with his mind, heart, and energy.

Whether through his educational work, advocacy, or motivational engagements, he is a force for positive change and inspiration.

Chapter Markers

00:00 - Introduction

04:28 - Finding a Way: Merrill Hodge's Journey

12:18 - Taking Ownership of Your Life

20:03 - The Struggles of Everyday Life

26:43 - Creating a New Chapter in Life

36:27 - Finding Your Best Self

The One Big Thing is produced by NQR Media. NQR also produces the award-winning Ditch the Suits Podcast, of which Steve is a co-host. For more, visit https://www.nqrmedia.com/

You can watch all episodes, as well as other great content produced by NQR Media, through their YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/@NQRMedia

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Steve Campbell: 00:00:02

Welcome to the One Big Thing podcast.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:04

Where inspiration beats transformation.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:12

Welcome to the One Big Thing podcast.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:14

I'm your host, Steve Campbell.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:15

You know, I'm a husband, dad to four young kids, and I serve as the chief brand officer at the company that I work at.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:21

So marketing, protecting brands, telling stories is at the heart of who I am.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:25

And, and the One Big Thing is all about bringing you inspirational people that can help you move the ball forward in your life.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:30

Today, you're in for a treat, as I have Merrill Hodge.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:32

If that name sounds familiar, Merill was in broadcasting with NFL Countdown on ESPN for several years, spent a decade in the NFL as a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:42

And today is now speaking as a motivational speakers to business executives and leaders all over the country.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:47

And it's going to resound around this One Big thing that he's going to share today is that you got to find a way every day.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:53

And this was something he discovered at 12 years old.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:55

We'll talk about it today.

Steve Campbell: 00:00:56

That carried on through his lifetime, not only through his NFL career, but broadcasting.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:01

He talks about going through severe depression, even fighting back through cancer and chemo.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:06

So wherever you are in life, you're going to learn today from Merrill Hodge how you got to find a way every day.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:12

And that really works when you learn to take control of what's going on in your mind.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:15

So we're going to share some things that can help you to really start to think of where thoughts come from so that you can take them captive and really show up and be the best mom, best dad, whoever you are in this life, be the best version of yourself.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:27

And it really starts with finding a way every day.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:30

So enjoy this episode with Merrill Hodge.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:33

Welcome back to the One Big Thing podcast.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:35

Steve Campbell, your host, Great episode.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:37

Today I have Merrill Hodge, who I've always kind of just watched from the sidelines, no pun intended.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:42

For those that aren't familiar, Merrill spent years on espn.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:45

He was in the NFL, has had an amazing career, probably one of the best dressed men I've ever seen in my lifetime.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:52

But he's also extremely inspirational.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:54

And so for those that are here to champion Merrill, welcome to the One Big Thing.

Steve Campbell: 00:01:58

You know, I'm a dad, a husband, I got four kids under 8 years old, and I'm right in the thick of the season of life that many of my listeners are, you know, helping in management level, executive level, run businesses, work at nonprofits, really make change in this world.

Steve Campbell: 00:02:13

And they're on a podcast because they're hoping that somebody Like Merrill can give them a spark and encouragement to let them know that this season is temporary, that there is good other side of it.

Steve Campbell: 00:02:22

It doesn't mean that hard isn't what's happening.

Steve Campbell: 00:02:25

But the whole idea of the One big thing is to bring you one big idea from this episode that can inspire you to really become the person you're supposed to be.

Steve Campbell: 00:02:33

And so I have.

Steve Campbell: 00:02:34

I've had, you know, several other NFL X alumni on this show.

Steve Campbell: 00:02:37

I've had business owners, but you get to hear insights from the real people that maybe you see on TV or making a difference in the world.

Steve Campbell: 00:02:44

And Merrill Hodge is definitely one of those.

Steve Campbell: 00:02:46

So, Meryl, for those that don't know you, I mean, obviously I shared a couple of things about your brief history.

Steve Campbell: 00:02:51

Is there anything else, though, at the beginning you'd want, you know, listeners to know about you today?

Merrill Hodge: 00:02:57

Well, I think one thing is I'm a product of a lot of people.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:01

You know, people challenged me, people inspired me.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:03

I find hope in people.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:05

I might, you know, depending on where this goes, share a few of those with you today.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:09

But I think that that is important, that I don't think any one person knows everything and will always know anything.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:16

One of the great challenges I have found in life is the continuing to learn and grow.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:21

You know, I'm gonna turn 60 in January, and I'm.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:25

I'm telling you, every year, the older I get, the more I realize how much I don't know.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:30

And.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:31

And I.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:32

And I love that energy.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:33

I love that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:33

That thought process, that and that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:35

That keeps me hungry.

Merrill Hodge: 00:03:37

It keeps me motivated and inspired to learn and grow from other people.

Steve Campbell: 00:03:42

Yeah.

Steve Campbell: 00:03:42

Well, as I told you, kind of pre call if you've never had a chance, go check out Merrill's website, which we will have in the show notes for you to go check out.

Steve Campbell: 00:03:50

He has.

Steve Campbell: 00:03:50

He's inspired NFL career and time on tv.

Steve Campbell: 00:03:55

He's continued to make an impact on business leaders and people getting out and speaking.

Steve Campbell: 00:03:59

And so I think you guys are in for a real treat today.

Steve Campbell: 00:04:02

And again, it's my honor because I've kind of watched Merrill from afar.

Steve Campbell: 00:04:05

So anytime any guests are willing to give me time and space to kind of get out from them the amazing things they've been accomplishing, but also the really hard things that they've gone through, I think that that's a win for you as a listener.

Steve Campbell: 00:04:16

So I always like to start the show by asking my guests their one big thing.

Steve Campbell: 00:04:19

So, Merrill Hodge, what is your one big thing that you want listeners to Take away from this ep, well, there.

Merrill Hodge: 00:04:28

Find a way for me, set me on a journey.

Merrill Hodge: 00:04:32

But if there was one thing it did initially, the day it entered my thought process, which I was 12 years old when, when I first put the words find a way up on my wall, they still.

Merrill Hodge: 00:04:42

They sit.

Merrill Hodge: 00:04:43

They're over there on that wall right now.

Merrill Hodge: 00:04:45

They've been around.

Merrill Hodge: 00:04:47

You know, let me do my first grade math, what, 48 years, you know, they've inspired me to do many things.

Merrill Hodge: 00:04:55

Many things.

Merrill Hodge: 00:04:55

I went and set me on a journey, but the one thing that it's always challenged me to do that is critical.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:03

I don't care what your circumstances is to take action.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:07

Like, do something about your circumstance.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:10

No matter who's listening to this, and clearly I don't know everybody, but everybody who's listening, I guarantee you they're smart enough to know what the results are.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:18

If you do nothing, you know, that's an easy one.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:21

If you do nothing, you know what the results will be.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:24

That's why it's so important that we do something.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:27

And that's what the words really inspired me to do initially.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:32

Set me on a journey.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:33

And I discovered things on the journey that I never would have discovered had I not taken the journey.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:38

And that's why I tell people, well, taking action, one of two things are going to happen.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:43

You're going to find your answer, or you're going to find another direction, but you're going to find.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:48

You're going to find something.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:48

Then you'll be like, dang, I'm so glad I went on that journey because I never would have discovered where I ended up.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:54

And sometimes where we're going doesn't mean that's where we're going to be.

Merrill Hodge: 00:05:58

And I've found that out many times.

Merrill Hodge: 00:06:00

I mean, my broadcasting career is a great example of that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:06:02

I had no.

Merrill Hodge: 00:06:04

If you'd asked me my rookie year if I was going to get into broadcasting, I'd asked what broadcasting was.

Merrill Hodge: 00:06:09

That's what I would have asked.

Merrill Hodge: 00:06:10

I would ask you that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:06:12

You know, I didn't even know broadcasting was.

Merrill Hodge: 00:06:14

But I'm not gonna go down that rabbit hole.

Merrill Hodge: 00:06:16

Just there's enormous value by doing something, and it's.

Merrill Hodge: 00:06:23

You know, it's gonna either help you get where you gotta go, or you're gonna.

Merrill Hodge: 00:06:30

You're going to discover something else along the journey.

Steve Campbell: 00:06:34

You know, I think what's great for those that may not know you, Merrill, is I've been a sports fan my entire life.

Steve Campbell: 00:06:38

You had an amazing career playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers and kind of what you just said, you know, would you have known in your rookie year that you would have ended up in broadcasting?

Steve Campbell: 00:06:46

That has been kind of a very similar tone that I've heard from other guests, whether they've been in the NFL or they've been musicians or professional wrestling.

Steve Campbell: 00:06:54

I never thought when I started something, even if I was scared out of my mind, not sure if I fit in, not sure if I was going to make it or if I was good enough of where the road was actually going to take me.

Steve Campbell: 00:07:04

And a lot of what I've heard from guests over the years is the setbacks that they've experienced that they'd never asked for were actually the setups to take them to the places that they never thought they could have dreamed of.

Steve Campbell: 00:07:14

And I think for a lot of us, we wished in our life we could kind of see the whole picture.

Steve Campbell: 00:07:19

Like where am I going to be at the end of this thing so I can build backwards from there.

Steve Campbell: 00:07:24

But if we're being honest, I think it would overwhelm us if we knew what was coming down the road that we are not really ready to take on because we haven't built up the mental fortitude or the experiences that when those hard life circumstances happen because they inevitably will happen to all of us.

Steve Campbell: 00:07:41

You're stronger five years from now or ten years from now than you are today because you've just experienced life as a human being.

Steve Campbell: 00:07:47

And I know from just kind of following your journey and doing, you know, my research on you, I mean, you've gone through a lot of things and so that Find a Way has become a beacon of hope even as a young kid.

Steve Campbell: 00:07:57

But what has that looked like or how has that manifested in your life in some of the things that whether it was your career or your health that were maybe those setups or those difficult seasons of life, how has that propelled you to become kind of the man you are today?

Steve Campbell: 00:08:13

Let's take a quick break to hear a word from your sponsor.

Steve Campbell: 00:08:16

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Steve Campbell: 00:08:20

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Steve Campbell: 00:08:25

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Steve Campbell: 00:08:43

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Steve Campbell: 00:08:46

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Merrill Hodge: 00:08:53

Well, you know, I was, I don't know what sparked it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:08:57

I can't remember what sparked.

Merrill Hodge: 00:08:58

I don't know if I was asked it or I was just thinking about it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:09:01

You know.

Merrill Hodge: 00:09:02

Find a Way has helped me live a dream and fight to live within that, that scope, you know, to live a dream was really, it started out I wanted to play in the National Football League.

Merrill Hodge: 00:09:12

And that's when I put that goal up when I was 12.

Merrill Hodge: 00:09:15

The words find a way resonated with me to inspire action.

Merrill Hodge: 00:09:18

Sent me on a journey and had my dad make me a wall of cork in my bedroom.

Merrill Hodge: 00:09:21

So I had a lot of visuals put up and everything was structured around a goal, a dream.

Merrill Hodge: 00:09:30

I had really never felt the challenge in my life.

Merrill Hodge: 00:09:33

You know, I mean now the way, you know, living a dream and trying to accomplish something, there's a challenge in that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:09:40

But being to having my career end at age 30 and having been going into cardiac arrest, laying in intensive care for days, having to learn how to read again, going through severe depression and having to start my life over at age 30 now that I thought would be the most difficult thing that I ever faced.

Merrill Hodge: 00:10:02

Then being told, you know, you have cancer, cancer and a three pound tumor and you're going to be brutally sick and you're gonna have burn holes in your body and it'll take over a year of treatment and they can't guarantee it's gonna work okay, well then that there's a layer of devastation that comes with that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:10:22

You get through all of that and then you're told you have to have open heart surgery because of the treatment that you had.

Merrill Hodge: 00:10:29

So those challenges, I actually probably learned more about myself than the dreams.

Merrill Hodge: 00:10:36

But the one thing if I lay, if I leave anything with your listeners, your viewers in life, if you'd never take ownership, you can never find peace, you can never find happiness and you'll never have personal success.

Merrill Hodge: 00:10:52

And what I mean by that is it's easy in life.

Merrill Hodge: 00:10:55

And the reason I know it, I'll go back to when my career ended at age 30.

Merrill Hodge: 00:10:59

I'm laying on a couch, I just gotten out of the hospital, I have no purpose.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:04

Something I've been doing for 22 years over abruptly and unnecessarily too, by the way.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:11

I was had head trauma.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:13

Didn't end my career.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:14

Improper care of it ended my career.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:17

So I had people that were medically trained, supposedly having the right skill set and they improperly cared for me, returned me back to play.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:27

And it, not only in my career, nearly took my life.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:31

So there was a lot of anger, bitterness.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:34

And this is where I learned the value of ownership.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:38

Because for days I laid on that couch, I was rotting, I was eroding.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:44

And every day I did this.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:46

I pointed fingers, I cast blame, I made excuses every day.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:50

And it was actually the words find a way again that would.

Merrill Hodge: 00:11:54

They would create this spark of hope where I realized I'd been doing that for about a month and I realized, oh, nobody's coming to this couch and getting me off it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:05

Nobody's just going to hand me another opportunity or a job or a thing.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:10

Now I've had people reaching out to me, okay, But I've yet to return a call.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:15

There was resources, but I'd yet to reach out.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:18

And it was the day I got off the couch and I took ownership of my life.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:24

I took ownership.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:26

That means when you take ownership.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:28

I'm not suggesting that's easy.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:30

It could be difficult, but not as difficult as running from it the rest of your life.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:35

Because if I stayed in that couch and did that repeatedly every day that ends up bad.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:40

I think everybody knows that it's not going to end up good.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:44

Nothing positive comes from that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:46

And people that do point fingers, cast blame and make excuses.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:50

You make your day easy, but your tomorrow harder.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:53

And once I realized those, those are just hard lines in the sand.

Merrill Hodge: 00:12:59

That is, they're the brutality and the honesty of life.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:03

Okay?

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:04

Now once you do take that ownership, then you can be rewarded with help from others, different resources that one might need, because that was just the start.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:15

I mean, but that start is critical now.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:17

It took me almost five years to kind of fully grasp my new journey.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:25

You know, I got hired by espn and I had created relationships during my NFL career, by the way.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:33

I had made it known that I was trying to get into broadcasting.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:35

I'd done that for nearly a decade.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:36

That's why I went to Chicago.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:37

As part of my deal was I had a CBS pre and post show that I did.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:43

I did a Monday night radio show at Walter Payton's restaurant.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:46

And there was a whole host of opportunities there aside from playing the game that I had had developed over 10 years.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:54

And then so I started to rework those.

Merrill Hodge: 00:13:57

So I created, you know, I planted seeds across the fields I needed.

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:03

Now go in and harvest them if you will.

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:05

But you can't harvest by laying on a couch.

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:08

And once I started to do those things, that is when obviously I realized the value of ownership.

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:16

You know, I put everything behind Me, I stopped pointing fingers, casting blame and making excuses because none of that was changing where I was going.

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:25

And that was rewarding and refreshing, you know, And I think that's what's hard with ownership, people.

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:31

You stay angry.

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:34

You have every reason to be mad at somebody who improperly cared for you.

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:38

Okay, then did your career.

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:40

Okay, but is that going to change?

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:42

Really going to give you your career back?

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:44

If you stay angry and mad, you get up every day and you point how bitter you are at it, is that going to change now?

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:50

It's not going to change, you know, and that's why taking ownership is not easy, you know, because you have to put that behind you.

Merrill Hodge: 00:14:57

However, the freedom of that, to put the trash behind you.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:01

I create new patterns, new habits, new, new new mindsets going forward.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:06

And I've never revisited it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:07

I have to revisit it, because I can tell you those raw emotions because I've lived it, you know, that's why when I say it, I don't just say it because somebody told me or I heard it or read it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:16

I lived it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:17

So I know the value in it and I know the rewards in it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:21

And man, there's peace to that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:22

I never.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:23

I never let my mind wander.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:26

Well, the other area that I was.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:27

I told you I was going to mention, all of these things I'm talking about comes down to this.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:32

Do you control your mind or does your mind control you?

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:36

Yeah, and every day you get up, you gotta.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:37

Everybody's got to deal with that challenge now.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:39

The more you learn to control your mind.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:41

You know, that's why visuals are important.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:43

That's why I still have them on that wall, because they reset me every day.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:48

You know, they remind me where we're going, what we're doing, what's important, what's not important.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:52

I don't.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:53

I don't worry about those type of things.

Merrill Hodge: 00:15:55

I'm not interested in somebody else's trash in their backyard.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:00

I got enough in mind.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:01

I got enough to be stay busy there.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:05

And I always remind myself, I think there's one person.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:08

Well, I know there's one person that walked on water.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:11

I've yet to find anybody else that's done it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:14

So if they haven't walked on water, I'm sure they're not going to take advice from them.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:19

And I'm not going to share stuff or judge in areas have no business being.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:24

That's why staying focused on what I'm trying to do, what I need to change, what I need to try to build on becomes My, my daily passion and, and vision.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:34

And when you absorb yourself in that, you just find greater peace.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:39

You know, there's, there's less, Less trash in the area.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:43

You know, my mind isn't cluttered with a bunch of garbage that is irrelevant to me.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:49

Young people with social media, I'm like, if you're really counting on likes comments, then your social media is prisoner.

Merrill Hodge: 00:16:59

That's a shame, you know, and keep mine.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:02

They know nothing about you, and they probably know nothing about what they're talking about.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:07

And you're putting value in that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:09

And obviously there's some value in it used properly.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:13

But we, we wander down that road and when we get caught up in that, and I'm not saying these things are easy, like I mentioned earlier, but once you establish how you're going to go about operating and you're going to operate around this area where you're the central focus, I, I do leadership presentations.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:36

And one of the.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:37

It's always hard for me to pick out the most important one, but the one that always does come out as number one is you got to take care of you.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:45

Okay?

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:46

That's not a selfish thing.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:47

I'm not saying that that's about you.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:48

It's about me.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:49

I walk in the room and, hey, it's all about me.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:51

Absolutely not.

Merrill Hodge: 00:17:52

But you have to invest in yourself from all aspects, from mental aspect, physical aspect, so a spiritual aspect.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:02

And that whatever time you need to devote to that, is it an hour, a couple hours.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:07

That's how I start my day.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:08

I can, I started, I had kids, okay?

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:12

I'm very passionate about working out and training.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:15

And when I started to have kids, I'm like, okay, these kids start early in the morning, as you know, you got four.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:22

And I'm like, yep.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:24

And I found one day I'm like, you know, I didn't get to work out.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:26

I didn't even.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:27

I mean, I'm so caught up in other.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:29

And what I got to do for them and what I have responsibilities.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:33

I didn't get time for me.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:35

I'm like, well, you just better get up earlier.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:38

So I decided, well, you know what?

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:39

I'm going to get up and invest in me, get what I feel I need from a workout perspective, just a mental health perspective.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:48

And I'm like, I'm so much better for those kids now, so much better in my job, and I'm so much better for other people.

Merrill Hodge: 00:18:54

I'm like, wow, that was, that was a life lesson right there, you know, so find that time to invest in yourself and you got to get up earlier to do it, then do it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:19:05

But make yourself a priority, because if you do that, you're so much better for everybody else.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:11

Well, and there's so much to impact with what you just said that we could go over from ownership to investing in yourself.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:18

You know, and I think about when you have somebody who's gone through a rare disease or a rare sickness or depression.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:23

I've had previous guests that have suffered with severe depression.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:26

I mean, that.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:27

That forces you to be in a position to deal with yourself.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:31

And when you have a life of an overcomer on the other side of it, I mean, it obviously makes you feel good about the human experience.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:38

And you can overcome hard things.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:40

And those episodes definitely resonate with people.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:43

But not everybody has struggled with cancer or depression or gbs.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:48

Guillain Barre syndrome.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:49

Who.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:49

One of my prior guests did.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:51

There's a lot of people that are in this.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:54

In between.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:55

They've never had something stricken them and hold them down as a sickness.

Steve Campbell: 00:19:59

They're just kind of doing every day and they're feeling lost.

Steve Campbell: 00:20:03

Maybe it's not onset depression, but they're feeling like they're feeling alone.

Steve Campbell: 00:20:08

And this is something I was thinking about even today, because I'm the same way.

Steve Campbell: 00:20:12

I mean, I get up at 4:30 in the morning, I go to the gym, I come home, make a cup of coffee, I have my devotional time, I pray, I think about today.

Steve Campbell: 00:20:19

And there's just times where as a dad and as a husband and a leader, that I feel alone, even though I'm so connected.

Steve Campbell: 00:20:27

And the human experience is wild in that I can feel both completely connected to people and alone.

Steve Campbell: 00:20:33

At other times, I can feel, you know, fit because I work out, but also fat and not overweight, but just a mindset of, like, what is wrong with me.

Steve Campbell: 00:20:42

We can have these dueling conflicting emotions and think that something is wrong with us.

Steve Campbell: 00:20:48

And I think what you just said kind of nails how you overcome that, which is taking ownership.

Steve Campbell: 00:20:54

It's not waiting for someone on TV to save you or a politician or this or that.

Steve Campbell: 00:21:01

It is actually you looking inwardly and saying what needs to change in Steve's life or Meryl's life.

Steve Campbell: 00:21:06

For me to feel like I'm living the full experience I want to live now.

Steve Campbell: 00:21:10

When you've gone through cancer or depression and you're stuck on your couch, that's one thing.

Steve Campbell: 00:21:15

There are listeners who are not on a couch every single day, but they're driving the minivan with their kids in it.

Steve Campbell: 00:21:20

They're going to and from work, they're on social media, like you said, getting stuck in the spiraling social media trends and kind of seeing people through other lenses.

Steve Campbell: 00:21:30

When you talk about taking ownership, is there anything that would be kind of your guide that you did that helped you?

Steve Campbell: 00:21:38

One of the things you talked about is visual aids.

Steve Campbell: 00:21:40

I don't think that there's a lot of people that have visuals or scripture or things around their house which is like, man, this is what it's all for.

Steve Campbell: 00:21:47

So visual aids are one of them.

Steve Campbell: 00:21:49

Are there anything else that you, Merrill, have implemented in your life that has helped you take ownership and has that kind of evolved as you've gotten older over time?

Steve Campbell: 00:22:00

Hey, everyone.

Steve Campbell: 00:22:01

Steve Campbell, thank you so much for listening to this episode.

Steve Campbell: 00:22:04

If it's made an impact on you, I would love to take a moment to ask you to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode.

Steve Campbell: 00:22:10

But I would also love for you to leave a five star rating and review your ratings and review, help other listeners know that this show is worth their time.

Steve Campbell: 00:22:17

So thank you so much for tuning into the one big thing and let's enjoy the rest of the episode.

Merrill Hodge: 00:22:22

Yeah, I'll repeat it and repeat it and repeat it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:22:26

Do you control your mind or does your mind control you?

Merrill Hodge: 00:22:29

Everything that you just mentioned, we could probably discover a person's issues within three.

Merrill Hodge: 00:22:35

There's three thirds to perfect health, okay?

Merrill Hodge: 00:22:38

And within these three thirds, there's called a routine.

Merrill Hodge: 00:22:41

Everybody has one, okay?

Merrill Hodge: 00:22:42

And if we put take a Look at these 3/3, you could probably find out where you could get better, where you could adjust some things and where you can improve your overall health and views.

Merrill Hodge: 00:22:56

And I'll get to that in a second.

Merrill Hodge: 00:22:58

But I'm going to go back to the power of you control your mind or does your mind control you?

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:02

You mentioned a minivan.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:03

You know, my daughter is due for her fifth.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:06

Okay.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:06

She has four kids under 11 and three of them have some autism to them, you know, so there's another layer of challenge there from a parenting aspect that I didn't have personally with my kids, but I'm working with her and her kids and how I've always known how important and critical parenting is, okay.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:28

And the investment in our kids from the second they're born for the rest of your life and investing in them, listening to them.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:35

That's where I, I came up with my.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:37

Probably my best parenting tool, which gives me perspective and patience, is I judge my kids in the yardsticks of their years and not mine.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:45

It's given me Patience and perspective.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:47

My whole life.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:47

So when somebody sees somebody, a child at 5, doing something at 5 years old and you're 35, you just can't help but see it at 35.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:56

Yep.

Steve Campbell: 00:23:57

Versus 5.

Merrill Hodge: 00:23:57

But if you'd reverse your vision and go, that's 5.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:00

What was I doing at 5?

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:02

I was probably slurping milk and spilling everything on the milk on the table, too.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:06

So let's not.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:07

Don't lose my mind over that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:09

Don't lose my mind.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:09

Doesn't mean that we can't talk to them about, hey, you know, try to do this a little better here.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:14

But the five, okay?

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:15

Perspective, patience.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:17

It comes back to, like, do you control your mind?

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:19

Does your mind control you?

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:20

You're in the minivan, you got your kids going crazy.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:23

You just hit a red light.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:24

Okay.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:25

You're losing.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:25

You know, you're late.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:27

All right?

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:28

Does those things control your mind?

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:32

Or can you change that thought process and go, go.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:36

You know, listen.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:36

Could be a lot worse.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:38

Yeah.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:38

You know, you can use whatever scenario you want.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:41

I can relive.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:41

I go, you know what?

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:43

I never want cancer again.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:44

I don't have that anymore.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:45

But I don't have that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:46

That's.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:46

That's a relief.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:47

Or I just heard, you know, somebody who just broke their leg and went to the hospital, and I'm like, I got to deal with that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:55

All of a sudden, sitting at that red light and kids going low cricket.

Merrill Hodge: 00:24:59

Not that big a deal.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:00

From a perspective aspect.

Steve Campbell: 00:25:02

Yeah.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:02

And I go back to this right here.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:04

Are you.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:05

All these things that are happened to you, how do you react to them?

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:08

You know, do you just let them build and boil on you?

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:11

Well, okay, you have that choice.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:13

You can sit there and let them build and boil, or you can create a different perspective and help you find some patience.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:20

You know what?

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:21

I've watched my daughter do this.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:22

You know, I just created that scenario.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:24

And she'll turn on some music or up and start singing because she has a great voice, and she's saying.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:28

And create change the atmosphere and the attitude.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:33

And so that's ultimately where we're in charge of.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:38

You know, we just fail to exercise that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:40

We let our minds control us.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:42

You know, we have to keep thinking about all those things around you versus changing that perspective, you know, and oftentimes, this is not 100, but it's.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:49

It's in the 90s.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:51

When a person is depressed, oftentimes they are thinking about the past.

Merrill Hodge: 00:25:58

You know, their mind is so consumed with the past, harboring ill will with people that have done the wrong things or they've done the wrong things.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:07

That's where I talk about why ownership is so important.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:10

And you put that aside when you can learn to put that away, you know, and swallow that, because you might be the one that's inflicted yourself.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:19

Okay, well, I got to put that away, you know, take ownership of it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:23

Did the wrong thing.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:24

Not going to do that going forward.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:26

And I can never change that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:28

That doctor cleared me to return to play even as angry as.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:31

No matter how much I laid on that couch.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:33

And the angrier I got was never changing that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:36

So how could I make it better for the people behind me?

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:40

You know, which.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:42

And you know what.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:43

What do I got to do to move forward and create a different chapter in my life?

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:49

You know, not doing that by the couch.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:51

So I'm just.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:52

I know there's a lot there, but it comes down to this thing right here, your controller.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:58

Does it control you?

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:59

You.

Merrill Hodge: 00:26:59

In every scenario, you get a chance to sit there and think, am I going to just let this boil at me and eat away at me and let this fuel me right now?

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:06

Or am I going to shift my thought process, create a different perspective and create a different energy around me with different ways to do that, to give me a place where, you know what?

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:18

This is not a bad place to be in.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:20

As bad as it is right now.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:22

I have a lot of other things that I can control, and one of them is not going to be just letting this thing boil me over at the top, where that's all I keep thinking about.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:33

And that is not an easy thing to do.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:36

But the more you practice it, the better you become at it, and the easier it becomes because I'm not sitting.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:43

This has happened to me.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:44

Go out 7 in the morning.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:45

I got a cancer event.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:47

I've got to be at 8.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:49

I got a low tire pressure in my truck.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:52

I go down to fill it up.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:53

I'm like.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:54

I look at.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:54

I look at my tire like, oh, my gosh, there's a bolt right in the middle of it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:57

I'm like, I ain't taking that thing anyway.

Merrill Hodge: 00:27:59

All right, there was.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:00

Here's a great example of how I was like, I could lose my mind right now.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:03

I'm like, I'm going to be.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:04

I got a real problem here.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:06

I need this truck now.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:07

I'm going to not be able to take this truck.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:10

And then I started thinking about, shoot, I'm going to drive to an event where we're gonna have six people that are showing up that are Going through chemotherapy right now.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:18

I know what.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:19

Going through the doors of chemotherapy for 12 hours.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:22

I don't have to do that today.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:23

That bolt, my tire is not that bad.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:25

I get it fixed somehow.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:27

I get it right over there and then just, you know, it didn't wear on me all day to become a.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:31

A bigger deal, even though there was all this incompetence in the process because I couldn't get my tire off because of what somebody else did, that I had no control that I'm not going to get into.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:42

But if you let those things, that's all you think about.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:45

It just could be an absolute train wreck.

Merrill Hodge: 00:28:47

But if you create a different perspective and maybe something you've lived or even something maybe you haven't lived, but helps you with a different perspective and patience, it's just so much easier to handle those things that come on our life and things that we don't control.

Merrill Hodge: 00:29:04

We don't let them burn and fuel us.

Merrill Hodge: 00:29:07

We switch them to the things that we do control.

Steve Campbell: 00:29:10

Yeah, when I think about ownership, but what you talk about as a dad with four young kids, it's a lot of times nuances and annoyances that are actually me.

Steve Campbell: 00:29:19

And I'm taking it out.

Merrill Hodge: 00:29:21

Oh, yeah.

Steve Campbell: 00:29:21

I'm taking it out on my kids.

Steve Campbell: 00:29:23

And, you know, when I respond in a way that I never thought as a father before kids, I would have responded whether I said it verbally or thought it in my head.

Steve Campbell: 00:29:31

Man, you have a come to Jesus moment where you're like, where did that come from?

Steve Campbell: 00:29:35

And you know, I never want to lash out at my kids, but when I.

Steve Campbell: 00:29:38

When I think about taking ownership.

Steve Campbell: 00:29:40

You said the word routine other, you know, earlier.

Steve Campbell: 00:29:42

We can have unhealthy routines in cycles where we are repeating the same things every day, hoping for change.

Steve Campbell: 00:29:49

And what I have found in my life is when I've acknowledged that I'm not showing up in whatever aspect of my life or title that I have in the way that I want to, how am I going to change it if I'm trying to squeeze into what I'm already doing, you know, how to make a change.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:06

It's just too difficult.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:07

I can't sit on a couch with kids running around me and my wife making dinner and really reflect on myself and like, where did this thought pattern come from?

Steve Campbell: 00:30:15

And next time this happens or even making content, I mean, you were in broadcasting for years.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:20

You do things sometimes on screen because people don't realize when that red light comes on, it's just.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:24

It's different.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:25

You're now an entertainer.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:26

You're now.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:27

It's not just having a cup of coffee with Marilyn Coffee shop where no one's going to hear us.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:30

There's going to be thousands of people that are going to hear this.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:33

The Internet's ruthless.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:34

People think and write in the comments and you know, you'll show something to a loved one and they're like, why do you always do that?

Steve Campbell: 00:30:40

And you're like, oh gosh, okay, like I won't do that next time.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:42

You can self reflect and say when I get in front of the camera, next time I'm going to do these things or when I show up as a dad, I want to be this way.

Steve Campbell: 00:30:50

But if I try to fit that in into the normal flow of the already restricted time capacity that I have, I'm not really doing myself service or giving that space the time to really reflect on how I can take ownership.

Steve Campbell: 00:31:02

And so I have found incorporating that time into my morning routine when my kids aren't up and I'm by myself, I typically will put on, you know, soft piano music and I'll just sit there and I'm like, man, let's look at the different aspects of make me who I am as a person, as a father, physically, mentally, financially.

Steve Campbell: 00:31:22

What, what are the things that I really wish?

Steve Campbell: 00:31:24

You know, one of my prior guests, Chris Cannon, had mentioned this.

Steve Campbell: 00:31:27

He said, what are the things that you wish more people knew about you?

Steve Campbell: 00:31:32

Because as men, especially in the limelight, like, we don't always share things about ourselves.

Steve Campbell: 00:31:36

And people go, oh man, Steve, I never knew that was your interest, your passion or whatever.

Steve Campbell: 00:31:40

And then he also said, now what are the things you hope no one ever finds out about you?

Steve Campbell: 00:31:44

And it's this dual question of like, oh gosh, is there some shame in my life that I hope no one ever discovers?

Steve Campbell: 00:31:52

Those are the things that I take in prayer and in my quiet time, you know, to sit there and say, man, how do I change it?

Steve Campbell: 00:31:58

But I say all of that because I think a lot of us can take this 30 minute conversation and go, okay, got to take ownership.

Steve Campbell: 00:32:05

But if you're trying to take ownership just while you're in the van and you've never actually had a detoxifying moment with yourself to really like set a groundwork.

Steve Campbell: 00:32:14

It's just going to be hard to take what Meryl said and just incorporate it into your day without creating a space.

Steve Campbell: 00:32:20

And it doesn't have to be long, even if it's just five minutes of alone time where you're just your phone's not on.

Steve Campbell: 00:32:26

It's not sitting in front of you where when you get your next iPhone ping or alert, you're now distracted.

Steve Campbell: 00:32:32

But it's really grounding yourself and saying, what is something that I want to change about myself?

Steve Campbell: 00:32:36

So you'd mentioned visuals, and I know we only got a couple minutes left.

Steve Campbell: 00:32:39

Obviously, you've been a champion of this.

Steve Campbell: 00:32:41

Find a way in taking ownership.

Steve Campbell: 00:32:43

Is there anything else that even if you were talking to your daughter, you know, with the five kids, which three of them having autism, I mean, that's the kind of stuff that stops me as a.

Steve Campbell: 00:32:51

As a host in my tracks and says, man, there are people out there that are dealing with.

Steve Campbell: 00:32:55

With kids with autism or situations that, you know, for parents that have never been through that, like, it creates context for you to be like, man, I can't imagine what that's like, going through it.

Steve Campbell: 00:33:05

But when you're dealing with your own kids or your grandkids, outside of the visuals and taking ownership, anything else from a super practical standpoint that you tell them, I love the idea of the yard that you shared, but anything else kind of along those lines that you think has really helped you or could help others?

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:20

Well, let me.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:20

Let me just kind of build on what you were talking about to help people.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:24

You know, I think there's two ways.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:26

It's.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:26

You know, I use sports.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:27

Sports is a great analogy for life.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:31

There's a reason that coaches put game plans together, have two days to put a game plan together.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:37

Okay?

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:38

And this is how.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:40

That's what I love about the huddle.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:41

In football, you know, people think the huddle was to call play.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:45

I might.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:46

I think that they decided to call the play in there.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:48

But we need to get together and discuss what's going on up there, because in the huddle, we would all talk about what's going on up there and make changes.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:54

Okay, yes, the play is called there, but that's not the main reason for the huddle.

Merrill Hodge: 00:33:58

It was so that we could all huddle up and discuss really quick and what's going on and what things could be different or how could we change things or a word here or there to make the play better.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:08

So to build on what you're saying.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:10

I think if people practice this, there's time where you create a game plan.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:13

That's when you're.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:14

That's when you're alone, you know, and then there's times we got to execute that game plan.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:19

So, you know, to practice that, you know, we kind of go back to that environment.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:24

Of the van.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:25

And that's not probably where you want to create your game plan.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:28

However, that's where you want to probably try to execute some of the plays.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:31

And I'll give you an example.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:32

My wife and I are just coming back from Orlando, and it's.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:36

If you've ever been to Orlando, it's obviously Disneyland.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:40

Half of the passengers are kids 5 years or long younger, right?

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:45

Screaming and yelling, and there's nothing.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:48

I don't care.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:49

Okay?

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:49

If it's your kids, just hear it a little differently.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:52

If it's other kids, you hear it differently.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:54

But when you hear that, you know, and you're on a plane, the kids are screaming, yelling, I'm.

Merrill Hodge: 00:34:58

You can get caught up in screaming and yelling, okay?

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:01

You can be like, oh, God, this is going to be an unbelievable playing rank.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:04

And here's how I create a different perspective.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:07

I'm like, I was five, I probably screamed and yelled just like that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:11

Like, if I just use that for an example, because it's a little one.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:15

But I'm.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:15

It's how I go about.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:16

I'm not letting it bother me because I'm like, I was five or six, I was three.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:22

And there's nobody's been five, six, or three that hasn't screamed, yell, or lost their minds.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:26

Okay?

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:27

This is, you know, I'm like, shoot, I was there.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:30

I was probably.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:31

That kid doesn't bother me as bad.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:33

Don't even think about as bad.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:35

If I get.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:35

Just think about.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:37

If I let it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:38

All I think about is all that screaming yells driving me nuts.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:41

Sure, it's a different way, but it's just an example of how you can practice things in environments.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:47

You know, there is that moment where you create the game plan.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:50

But there's times in the life where you.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:52

You can execute things and practice different things to help you go back to this, controlling your mind.

Merrill Hodge: 00:35:57

Okay, that screaming yell, is that.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:00

Does that bother me?

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:00

Or I'm like, you know what I used to do?

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:02

I bet you I did that when I was a kid, too.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:03

Yeah, not that big a deal.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:06

Don't bother me now.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:07

So hopefully you know that, you know, you practice those things daily and you create a game plan.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:14

Then you execute your game plan.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:15

You execute.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:16

You get pretty good at it.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:18

You know, you get really strong.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:19

And I tell people all the time, do you live by what you trust or by what you fear?

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:27

And fear is temporary regrets forever.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:30

So if you're going to trust something, trust you.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:33

You know, you're the human being that nobody wants their goals and dreams More than you.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:37

Nobody's going to do the work for your deadline, your challenge, you are.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:41

So trust you.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:42

You know, develop tools and skills that can help you be a better you and a better component of you, and that helps you be so much better for others.

Merrill Hodge: 00:36:50

Yeah.

Steve Campbell: 00:36:50

Well, as I said, as we kind of bring this one to a close, I'll have information in the show, notes about how to get in contact with your website, because you've also been a published author, you have some amazing pieces out there.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:00

But as I think about everything that you just shared in my current season of Life, you know, I think.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:05

I think part of what is difficult is most listeners of podcasts aren't committing, you know, insane crimes or sin.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:13

They're not out physically hurting people, dealing drugs.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:17

It's.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:17

They just blow it every day as a parent, they blow it as a spouse.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:20

They say something they shouldn't have said, they react in a way.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:23

They're triggered, you know, and you could tell because when your kids are like, dad.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:26

And you're like, what?

Steve Campbell: 00:37:28

You catch yourself and you're like, well, that wasn't very inviting, you know, And I think about.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:32

I think the hardest part is when you deal with clients or guests on your show or friends that come over, there's a grace that you will extend to those individuals because you want to be your best self.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:44

You know, I want you to leave Maryland, have a wonderful experience and tell people about the episode, and, hey, you should go listen.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:50

So you are literally going to get my best of what I have to offer.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:53

Fully present, fully engaged, listening to what you say, giving feedback.

Steve Campbell: 00:37:59

That's awesome.

Steve Campbell: 00:38:00

But if my kids enter the room or my wife enters the room later tonight and my wife says something and I'm not really paying attention, I'm not giving her my best self, or my kids walk in the room and, hey, dad.

Steve Campbell: 00:38:10

And I'm like, what?

Steve Campbell: 00:38:12

You know, and all of a sudden, they're, what was that?

Steve Campbell: 00:38:14

I think those are the moments for me that.

Steve Campbell: 00:38:17

That I catch myself going, steve, it doesn't matter how many people you interview.

Steve Campbell: 00:38:22

Like, it doesn't matter how influential you ever become.

Steve Campbell: 00:38:26

You're missing this.

Steve Campbell: 00:38:29

And that's just my own holy spirit conviction that gets me where it's like, man, I don't want to tame the whole world and lose my soul in the process of those that are really a part of the legacy that I'm building, that listeners will come and go, fans will come and go, clients will come and go.

Steve Campbell: 00:38:44

But my wife, my four kids, my family, like, that's my life.

Steve Campbell: 00:38:48

And so again, I don't think we're talking about the egregious things, criminal activity.

Steve Campbell: 00:38:54

It's the people that are, I think maybe trying to do the right thing.

Steve Campbell: 00:38:58

They're just falling a little bit short every day.

Steve Campbell: 00:39:00

And it's those, if you, like you said, don't take ownership of where those thoughts came from and taking them capped.

Steve Campbell: 00:39:06

In trying to change those mindsets, you can find yourself in a lull or a dull, you know, kind of wishing for the next season of life.

Steve Campbell: 00:39:13

So, you know, I think that find a way every day and what you said about taking ownership is really going to help inspire a lot of people.

Steve Campbell: 00:39:20

But obviously, as the host of the show, Merrill, I appreciate you coming on and taking the time to be real, honest and transparent and share what has helped you both on the playing field, but also in your life of broadcasting.

Steve Campbell: 00:39:31

And now just the work you're doing as a motivational speaker.

Steve Campbell: 00:39:35

I just appreciate you coming on and kind of sharing your insights today.

Merrill Hodge: 00:39:37

I'm a pleasure.

Merrill Hodge: 00:39:38

Always love a platform to share and hopefully somebody out there, you gave them a little something that helps them build on where they're going in life too.

Merrill Hodge: 00:39:46

So I appreciate it.

Steve Campbell: 00:39:48

Absolutely.

Steve Campbell: 00:39:49

How good was Merrill Hodge?

Steve Campbell: 00:39:51

I wasn't kidding when I did the introduction with him.

Steve Campbell: 00:39:53

He probably is one of the sharpest dressed men that I've ever experienced in my lifetime, even on tv.

Steve Campbell: 00:39:59

Merrill, this stuff is awesome, right?

Steve Campbell: 00:40:01

I get to interview people that I've just kind of enjoyed as a fan and a follower and an entertainer from the side.

Steve Campbell: 00:40:07

Get 30, 35 minutes with them to realize that they're human beings just like you and I.

Steve Campbell: 00:40:11

Sometimes we all get dealt bad hands and it's more so like, how do we figure out how to work through it?

Steve Campbell: 00:40:16

And as Meryl shared today, you just got to find a way every day, learn to win the mental game.

Steve Campbell: 00:40:20

Learn to win the thoughts that are coming into your mind so that you can show up and be your best self.

Steve Campbell: 00:40:24

So again, I hope that this is not your last stop on the One Big Thing, but that you'll subscribe.

Steve Campbell: 00:40:29

Leave a comment on YouTube, follow us along at NQR Media on our YouTube channel.

Steve Campbell: 00:40:34

But really follow the One Big Thing because I believe that this show can become a place for people in their 30s and 40s to get one big idea with every single guest that can inspire you and encourage you to become your best self and move the ball forward.

Steve Campbell: 00:40:46

And if there are topics or speakers like Ameril Hodge that you want to hear from, please get in touch with me.

Steve Campbell: 00:40:51

We'll have information in the show notes how you can do that.

Steve Campbell: 00:40:54

I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate all of you for being here.

Steve Campbell: 00:40:58

Whether it's a first stop or you're going to come back for other episodes, this One Big Thing has become a platform for me to kind of share what's on my heart and bring you inspiring people that can take you from where you are to the person you want to become.

Steve Campbell: 00:41:11

And I think it starts with one big idea at a time.

Steve Campbell: 00:41:13

So thank you for being my guest on the One Big Thing.

Steve Campbell: 00:41:15

Until next time, thanks for stopping by.