Episode 1271: Impact the World - Interview with Founder of Cope Notes Johnny Crowder - Part 4

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining us on episode 1,271 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:07] Johnny Crowder: Hey, I'm Johnny Crowder and I'm challenging you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasure to live out your calling. Having the ability to train your brain to combat anxiety is key, and just one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this The Inspired Stewardship Podcast with my friend Scott.

[00:00:43] Do you realize that one little micro interaction you have with somebody could make like a world of difference and you meet hundreds upon hundreds of people every day working at a restaurant? Like it's the I, I think it's what I would encourage anybody to do is remember, [00:01:00] Every moment they are alive and have the opportunity to build something or create something, or interact with somebody.

[00:01:08] Scott Maderer: Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, who will learn to invest in your.

[00:01:27] Invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:01:39] Today's interview with Johnny Crowder. I asked Johnny about stewardship and what it means to him. Johnny also shares how you can make a dent in the universe, and I asked Johnny to share with you what he hopes his legacy. One reason I like to bring you great interviews like the one you're gonna hear today is because of the power in learning [00:02:00] from others.

[00:02:01] Another great way to learn from others is through reading books. But if you're like most people today, you find it hard to find the time to sit down and read, and that's why today's podcast is brought to you by Audible. Go to inspired stewardship.com/audible to sign up and you can get a 30 day free trial.

[00:02:21] there's over 180,000 titles to choose from, and instead of reading, you can listen your way to learn from some of the greatest minds out there. That's inspired stewardship.com/audible to get your free trial and listen to great books the same way you're listening to this podcast. Johnny Crowder is a 29 year old suicide and abuse.

[00:02:45] A 10 x speaker, a touring musician. Welcome to the show, mental Health and Sobriety Advocate. Thank you so much for having me. And the founder and CEO of Koch Notes, a tech-based mental health platform that provides daily support to users in nearly 100 countries around the [00:03:00] world. But in the years leading up to these incredible leaps and advocacy, every day was a battle against schizophrenic hallucinations and suicidal ideation after a lifetime of resisting professional care and shying away from sharing his.

[00:03:15] Johnny's curiosity flowered and the healing slowly began. Ironed with 10 years of clinical treatment, a psychology degree from the University of Central Florida, and a decade of peer support and public advocacy through the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Johnny's youthful figure for mental health has impacted millions of lives across the globe.

[00:03:35] Since his first keynote in 2011, Johnny's refreshingly vulnerable and candid perspective has attracted praise from hundreds of outlets, including Upworthy, cnn, and Forbes, even when commanding a virtual stage or touring with his mental band prison, his infectious positivity and firsthand experience with multiple mental illnesses ranging from bipolar disorder and PTSD to O C D and [00:04:00] beyond.

[00:04:00] Uniquely equip him to provide realistic, yet hopeful insight into the pains of hardship with authenticity, levity, and unconventional win. Welcome to the show Johnny.

[00:04:11] Johnny Crowder: Thank you so much for having me, dude.

[00:04:15] Scott Maderer: So last week I asked you about the word leadership. Uh, this week I'm gonna give you a different word that, again, I've asked a lot of people to define this word and I get a lot of different answers.

[00:04:26] So what does the word stewardship mean to you, and what has the impact of that word been on your life?

[00:04:33] Johnny Crowder: I think about stewardship a lot in terms of, um, I mean the, the one thing that I'm sure a lot of people bring up is like the parable of the talents. Mm-hmm. . Um, but from my, from where I'm sitting right now, I think of stewardship as, if you give me something, what am I doing?

[00:04:56] Considering the fact that it was given to me, like how am I [00:05:00] leveraging something that you've given to me to do greater good for people who are not me? Mm-hmm. , I think it changes everything about what I do. Like if I'm, you know, I tour in a metal band called prison, and if I'm on stage and I'm holding a microphone, I think, well, I'm a steward of this micro.

[00:05:20] Someone gave me this microphone and gave me this venue and gave me the opportunity to perform, and now it's up to me what I do with the microphone, I can, if I say jump, people jump. If I say get in a fight in the mosh pit, they say they get in a fight in the mosh pit. You know, I have complete control over what I do with this thing that was given to me, and I view my company that way.

[00:05:41] I view every stage I speak on. That way. I view my personal finances that way. My relationships. It's, I think the, the thing underlying stewardship is that it kind of assumes that the thing that you are stewarding is something that was given to you rather than something you've earned. Because if you've, if [00:06:00] you earned a hundred thousand dollars all by yourself and nobody helped you in a total vacuum, so you had no boss, you had no mentors, you had no friends, no, no other human was involved.

[00:06:11] I guess you could probably blow that money on whatever you want, doesn't matter. But if that money was given to, It almost feels like there's, there's a stewardship component. It's in the act of receiving, at least from my perspective, it's in the act of receiving something that, um, enforces the idea that you should be a good steward of it.

[00:06:33] Scott Maderer: So last week we talked a little bit about some of the principles of, of influence. If somebody wants to make a, what I call a dent in the universe, and the universe can be big or small, that's not a size thing. But if somebody wants to make a dent in the world around them, what are some of the principles or ideas or mindsets that you think they need to understand to be able to do that?

[00:06:57] The first thing that

[00:06:57] Johnny Crowder: comes to mind is the size thing that you [00:07:00] just mentioned. Like I have friends who say, you know, I can't make a huge impact on anybody. Like I just work at Chipotle or something. And it's like, dude, do you realize. One little micro interaction you have with somebody could make like a world of difference, and you meet hundreds upon hundreds of people every day working in a restaurant.

[00:07:22] Like it's the I, I think it's what I would encourage anybody to do is remember that. Every moment they are alive and have the opportunity to build something or create something or interact with somebody, um, or even make an impact on their own lives, like getting sober, for example, or checking into rehab, or going to church or working out, or all of these different things that you can do even in your own life.

[00:07:49] All of these things are dense in the universe. I think the biggest thing that stops people from making an impact is them thinking that the impact will be too small and thus not worth the effort, [00:08:00] and I would argue that. That is completely untrue because I've had micro interactions with strangers that have changed my life, and I'm sure they didn't leave thinking, well, there I go, making a dent in the universe.

[00:08:13] You know, they, but they had that effect on me. And you can have that effect regardless of your position, your status, your socioeconomic situation. Um, it's the, the opportunities are boundless.

[00:08:29] Scott Maderer: So this is my favorite question. Though some guests have told me that it's not their favorite question, so we'll see how you feel about it.

[00:08:36] I, if I invented this magic machine and I could pluck you from sitting on the exercise ball where you are today and transport you magically into the future 150, maybe 200 years, and through the power of this machine, you were able to look back and see your entire life and all of the, all of the relationships, all of the, the ripples, all of the connections that you've left.[00:09:00]

[00:09:00] What impact do you hope you've left on the world?

[00:09:06] Johnny Crowder: This is gonna sound really, really reductionist, but I hope more people feel better sooner. It's, you know, there are people who are still alive because of a song that I've written or because of a Coke Notes text that came in at the right time. There are people who have. You know, gone back to school or reunited with estranged siblings or, you know, um, marriages have been restored, just unbelievable results from, from either my talks or my music or, or cope notes.

[00:09:41] But if you boil all of that down, it's really more people feeling better sooner. That's like, at the end of the day, that's all I've ever wanted, is, is think about it, kind of like the influence thing that we were talking about. If you feel better sooner, you are more likely to help someone else feel better [00:10:00] sooner, and they in turn are more likely to help someone else feel better sooner.

[00:10:04] So that's the dream, right, is, is investing in that network effect and praying that over time those, um, ripples in the pond become huge waves of.

[00:10:21] Scott Maderer: So as we finish out 2022 and look forward into 2023, what's, what's on the roadmap? What's coming next for you? For Johnny and for Coke notes as y'all finish out the year

[00:10:33] Johnny Crowder: I. Have no problem saying that I have no freaking idea because I've been wrong every single year. So far. Um, Coke Notes has become something bigger and better than I ever dreamed.

[00:10:47] Um, my band has accomplished more than I ever thought possible, and I just hope that I get to play more concerts. I get to speak at more events and give more keynotes, and that Coke Notes gets to help more people. And, and maybe if I [00:11:00] really wanna stretch, I'd really like to pet more dogs.

[00:11:06] Scott Maderer: Uh, my wife would agree with you on that one. Um, our, our, our joke is we know every dog in the neighborhood and we know two or three of the owners, um,

[00:11:22] You can follow Johnny on LinkedIn or Facebook as Johnny Crowder. He's also over on Instagram as Johnny Crowder loves you and he has a website@johnnycrowder.com. If COPE notes was something that you want to check out, you can also find out more about COPE notes over on cope@copenotes.com. Of course, I'll have links to all of that in the show notes as well.

[00:11:42] Johnny, is there anything else you'd like to share with the listener?

[00:11:46] Johnny Crowder: I just want to say, um, you know, I've, I've gotten in the habit of saying this recently. There. People who are listening to this right now, maybe you who think I'm [00:12:00] not doing enough, or I'm too far away from where I want to be, especially when it comes to mental health.

[00:12:04] They think, oh, I can't be helped, or, I'm too far behind, or I'm too broken. I want to encourage you to say that if you just spent your time listening to a conversation like this, you are already past one of the hardest parts, which is gearing your brain up to. About this. So I encourage you, please, after this ends, listen to another podcast about mental health.

[00:12:31] Google a question you have about mental health. Look on YouTube and watch a TED Talk about mental health. Does not have to be mine. Check out a book from your local library about mental health. Don't let this be the end of the conversation, and if it's any encouragement at all to you, at least in terms of from the perspective of my journey, you're past the hardest.

[00:12:55] Scott Maderer: Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. [00:13:00] As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this, Please. Please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.com/itunes.

[00:13:22] Rate all one word iTunes rate. It'll take you through how to leave a rating and review, and how to make sure you're subscribed to the podcast so that you can get every episode as it comes out in your feed. Until next time, invest your. Your talent and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact the world.