Episode 1320: Interview with Ahmard Vital about Inspiring Young Men to Excellence

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining us on episode 1,320 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:08] Ahmard Vital: I'm Ahmard Vital

[00:00:09] I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your

[00:00:13] influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures

[00:00:18] to live out your calling

[00:00:19] Heaven. The ability to seek community for success is key.

[00:00:24] And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the Inspired Stewardship podcast with my friend Scott

[00:00:32] Maderer.

[00:00:38] And it's just like they, there's

[00:00:40] a part that just doesn't feel like you're getting through to your kids or you're not doing enough, and it's just like, Some of 'em, you're like, how much more can you do? Like you are like, you're pretty awesome. But it's almost

[00:00:51] like it's never enough. And so I want, I think that sometimes, even though that is an internal issue with fathers and mothers, I.

[00:00:59] I [00:01:00] do think that the kids can play a role in that.

[00:01:03] 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, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you.

[00:01:27] Can impact the work.

[00:01:34] In today's podcast episode, I interview Ahmad Vital. I ask Ahmad to share with you why he focuses on inspiring young men on their journey. Ahmad also talks about his faith journey and how that inspired him to now do the work that he does. I also ask Ahmad to share with you some of hi his key tips so that young men can get off to a strong start in life.

[00:01:56] One reason I like to bring you great interviews like the one you're gonna [00:02:00] hear today is because of the power in learning from others. 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.

[00:02:17] Go to inspired stewardship.com/audible to sign up and you can get a 30 day free trial. 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.

[00:02:45] Motivational consultant, international speaker, and Arthur Ahmad. Vital has empowered people globally with his inspirational guidance and tips for self-development. Ahmad provides his audiences with the tools needed to achieve personal success, [00:03:00] utilize willpower and determination, and develop strategies that will allow people of all ages to achieve personal and professional excellence after nearly a decade of studying.

[00:03:10] The performance habits of high achieving athletes, Ahmad has developed programs of inspiration and motivation that are beneficial to individuals, professionals, companies, and organizations worldwide. In 2011, Ahmad published Awakened The Baller Within, which was quickly labeled as The Athletes Life Manual by some pundits in sports media.

[00:03:31] He published his second book, I Am More Than Enough in April of 2019 to address many of his clients' confidence challenges in their personal and professional lives. When Ahmad is not traveling, speaking, or writing, he works as a humanitarian and teen ministry leader, volunteering his time to inspire youth to envision their futures beyond their challenges and circumstances.

[00:03:53] He is also an avid reader and a fitness coach teaching cycling classes in North Houston. Welcome to the [00:04:00] show. Thank you for having me on. Absolutely. We talked a little bit about it in the intro some of your journey and working as a coach, working with others the books you've been writing, that kind of thing.

[00:04:16] But what really moved you along that journey from doing the work that you've done to now being a motivational speaker, working with young people? Focusing on the books and all of those sorts of things.

[00:04:32] Ahmard Vital: Again, thank you for having me. I'd say the core of everything is just me as a writer. That's been going on since literally I can walk.

[00:04:41] I think a pen in hand is where I feel like my greatest strength is. That's That's a gift that was given to me. And I've always exercised that everything springs out of writing, the coaching, the consulting curriculum building the ministry. Everything begins with me in the [00:05:00] lab with a pen in my hand and a pad to my right.

[00:05:03] And I look at that as the foundation. I look at that as one of the gifts and the callings I was given. And so I just have just really exercised and leaned in on that. I know we'll talk more about the things that have come from that, but me as a writer going all the way back to probably like the age of 10, 11, 12, Somewhere around there.

[00:05:23] I've been writing ever since editor of my newspaper in high school, majored in journalism in college. First job out of college was with a newspaper, writing sports and news for an area in Northwest Houston. And so everything, my first major gig, the first major money I made, all of that stuff came from, all that stuff stemmed from writing.

[00:05:44] So there's no part of me that doesn't include writing. And so I look at that as the foundation for everything I do up to this point.

[00:05:53] Scott Maderer: Where do you think that gift for writing came from in terms of [00:06:00] A lot of people they talk about people always everyone has a book in them, but most people never write it, and yet you said writing was something that you resonated with, even as a kid. That's pretty unusual. Why did your parents foster that in you? How did that come about?

[00:06:17] Ahmard Vital: It's tough to say and just, I think my greatest form of expression was just writing, obviously coming up up until.

[00:06:30] 11 years older. So I was an only child and I think my mother was a teacher. My dad was a petroleum engineer, my other father was an artist. Education was always all around me. But the idea of writing maybe I wasn't much of a speaker back then. Who knows? And the way I just expressed myself was through writing.

[00:06:49] I just know that I pretty much wrote my first book at about age of 11 or 12. Didn't publish it. But at the same time, I just leaned into writing. I was writing [00:07:00] for major, I was writing for a community, newspapers when I was 14 years old, getting a check. And so it just always

[00:07:06] I think

[00:07:06] it's, I think it's just an inherent gift from God, man.

[00:07:08] I really do. I can't really explain where it came

[00:07:11] from. It's just It just is. And I, once I figured out what that was I've always leaned in on it.

[00:07:17] Scott Maderer: And how about your faith journey? How did that intersect you? You just mentioned you felt like the writing was a gift from God, and you mentioned ministry work a little earlier, but what, how did your faith journey play out as you move through those areas?

[00:07:33] Ahmard Vital: Like most Christians, it's a, it's, it is a it's a boat on water that's, that has a lot of

[00:07:39] waves in it and it's moved

[00:07:41] many times over. I was baptized in a Baptist church. When my mother got remarried I joined Catholicism, I did the communion and everything. I went back to the Baptist church when I went to college, and then on the back half of college, I became, I guess what you say a

[00:07:59] heathen or [00:08:00] someone who just didn't even do anything, had a bible on my bookshelf.

[00:08:04] But it just, it

[00:08:04] was

[00:08:05] Ahmard Vital: collecting a lot of through college. Came out of college, went back to the Baptist church. I was brought up in, and then I went into, I guess you could say alternative. Religions at some point in time I was in a very lost state of affairs and at that time it seemed like a good idea for me to go that direction.

[00:08:25] But I always kept the bible near even if

[00:08:29] I didn't use it as much as I should have. So I always knew my foundation wasn't Christ. I just

[00:08:34] didn't know what to do with it as I

[00:08:36] was going through and just test driving anything that I thought would work because I was doing. What the world had told me to do.

[00:08:46] It's okay you're a Christian, you pray and do all of these things, but it's maybe there's something over there. I need to see what's going on. And it seems every time I was hearing something new it seemed like something I wanted to pursue. And over time, obviously [00:09:00] you have your crash and burn moments and you have that conversation with God and it's just like, all right, God.

[00:09:06] Clearly I don't know what I'm doing. If you could intervene right now, it'd be great because I'm I'm the prodigal right now. I'm very lost. And committed my life to Christ and in and out. That's probably happened three or four times in my life.

[00:09:25] And I'm pretty sure that's not uncommon for some people. But I will say that along the way God revealed some things to me where I knew that not only did he not leave nor fore me, he saved me from so much. And my faith just continued getting stronger as the more crazy I

[00:09:43] did, the more his hand was just

[00:09:45] pulling me back from a lot of just bad decisions.

[00:09:49] And over time I was just like, okay, maybe I'll try to lean in a little bit more on this. And that's where the ministry work came in. That's where working with the youth came in. That's where [00:10:00] becoming a Bible reader was a practice as opposed to just a checklist. It became Part of just as much as my D n A, it's okay, when are you going to do that?

[00:10:12] Which is going to draw you closer to where you're going to be being

[00:10:17] obedient and doing

[00:10:19] What you know you are supposed to do. Because if we're called to do things for others, we have to be poured into, we have to make sure our cup is full so that we can get from the overflow and. I have to say, it took me some decades to figure that out, but thank God I did.

[00:10:33] And I'm very grateful to, to be in this place right now because I can tell you right now, the man who's speaking to you right now didn't exist probably 10 years ago. And that's all because of God and the faith and the grace that he's given me over the years.

[00:10:48] Scott Maderer: I think it's important to hear for people to hear that idea of I, I think a lot of times people see where somebody's at in their Christian walk and they're like, oh, look they're a man of faith.

[00:10:58] They're praying, they're doing all of [00:11:00] the quote unquote faith stuff they must have been like that their whole life. It's no, not necessarily. Secretly, it's a journey. It's not a it's not a one size fits all thing that you just walked into at birth.

[00:11:15] Ahmard Vital: Absolutely not.

[00:11:16] And no, it is just and you read any of any of the disciples, man, they, they've come from some places and there's definitely some I relate to from an anger standpoint, from a disobedience standpoint. And it's just man the life manual is

[00:11:36] right there to show you everything we're dealing with right now.

[00:11:39] And man, we all had to come from somewhere. And it's like that's where the testimonies come from. That's where the redemption come from. And that's when you look back and say, you know what, how about I save somebody 10 years of their life and try to impart on them

[00:11:52] a testimony so that. You don't lose those years from trying things that I for sure can tell you [00:12:00] doesn't work.

[00:12:00] And man when you, I know we say this a lot in the Christian faith when we talk about the merciful God is, it's just like you. I can really say that with conviction. When you when your story is just man, I have the scars to prove it. I have the receipts, I have everything.

[00:12:21] And it's just thank you for bringing me to this place. At this time. I will use what you have given me. I will use the testimony to, to share with others, to be able to bring them to a place where I. They can know your power, know your strength, and know your wisdom. I think you just touched on it, but I want to hear you unpack it a little bit more.

[00:12:40] Scott Maderer: Why do you feel now that you're called to work and to focus with young adults especially young men. What does that drive come from?

[00:12:52] Ahmard Vital: Some, somewhere along the way. And I think it was always a yearning that was within me. I had an older sister. [00:13:00] And obviously I had two fathers and my brothers were younger, and there was a side of me who always wanted an older brother.

[00:13:08] I wanted someone

[00:13:10] who

[00:13:11] Had the values the pragmatic the just had the values and integrity of my father. But things I didn't want to go to my father about,

[00:13:23] at least not yet and have those

[00:13:25] conversations.

[00:13:26] And and there is

[00:13:26] Scott Maderer: something about having to go to dad or mom about something in there.

[00:13:30] Ahmard Vital: Yeah, some, it's some of those late teen conversations, you're just not ready

[00:13:35] to talk to your folks about it. And my father was old school, like I'm talking like old school, Vietnam.

[00:13:41] Anything that was new and trendy just wasn't what he was talking about. So I couldn't really talk pop culture with him.

[00:13:47] I couldn't talk about some of the, these struggles I was having, whether it was music, whether it was school, whether it was rap movies, women. It just was just like, ah [00:14:00] not quite there. I strive to be the man I needed when I was 17, and I start unpacking what did I need at that time?

[00:14:08] C And I want to be that resource for young men especially just especially now with the information age with the digital stuff that's going on with the lack of accountability. The delayed gratification is just put on the shelf because everything is so quick and

[00:14:26] instant that they

[00:14:27] just don't know the idea of digging the trenches one, one shovel at a time.

[00:14:33] And so 90

[00:14:35] Scott Maderer: day, same as cash. Is it really same as cash?

[00:14:39] Ahmard Vital: Was the cash even there? That's

[00:14:41] Scott Maderer: a bigger question, but I'll get it in 90 days. You gotta understand,

[00:14:46] Ahmard Vital: oh man, that's a whole soon, that's a whole nother podcast for another day. The financial

[00:14:52] literacy part of this song. Oh, no, that's

[00:14:54] Scott Maderer: what I do.

[00:14:56] That's my job.

[00:14:57] Ahmard Vital: Yeah. And [00:15:00] It's just interesting because there's just so much going on and I love my young men. I love what they represent and. I rebuke or am discarding any of what society is telling them they should be. And so over time I just looked out and I was just like when my manager looked over me when I first started doing my international work, and she said, you are going to be the bridge to future generation.

[00:15:29] She's because you are old enough to be raised in old school values, but you caught the technological age, you're the perfect person to be that per to be. Demand to, to pour into the next generation. And I was already feeling that, but it's almost like God sent someone into my life to say, Hey this is where you need to be.

[00:15:49] And I've doubled and tripled down over time. But they need guidance because I, I want to know that there's a future. I want to know that That [00:16:00] the word of God still stands true even at this time when the enemy is on full blown attack right now.

[00:16:07] And I want to be the one who says I'm going to equip my guys up with their

[00:16:12] armor, but I'm going to put on double armor and shoot and try to shoot at me first

[00:16:16] because I'm going to protect them from some of the things because I know some of your tricks that they don't know.

[00:16:22] So I'm going to inform them of all your dirty tactics and

[00:16:26] all of the things you're doing to corrupt their minds and put them in a position where they're useful adults. They're a provider and protector of women and children, and that

[00:16:34] they're gonna be great

[00:16:36] men of society who are gonna build us and take us into the next generation as well.

[00:16:41] Scott Maderer: So let me ask you a hard question about that. You mentioned that you as a kid had a hard time listening to mom and dad and going to them for certain things and talking to your dad about these issues and that kind of thing. Why do you think that young men wanna listen to you?

[00:16:59] Ahmard Vital: [00:17:00] That's a great, that's a great

[00:17:01] question and I will say this. It does take time.

[00:17:06] You have to build trust in them. They need to know that you love them. And so I do pull a lot of my young men aside and when I'm teaching them,

[00:17:15] I don't, for

[00:17:17] one, I never share with them that I know everything.

[00:17:20] I share with them that I know what I know, and I'll lean in on that and I'll show you the proof of what I know. But when they come to me with a situation and I'm not qualified for

[00:17:28] it, I will go seek who is either I will seek the information needed to share with them, or I will personally

[00:17:34] walk them to someone who is more qualified in that department.

[00:17:38] And so there's an understanding where it's like, Mr. Vito doesn't know everything and I'm never going to play that I do because I want what's best for you. And I know that there could be someone who's better for you to share this information. And so over time the trust is there. When I'm praying for them, I don't judge them, right?

[00:17:54] They can come to me with pretty much

[00:17:56] anything. And we know at this point in time, We've all heard some things that are [00:18:00] just like

[00:18:01] Very personal to them. I, not only do I keep their secrets close and make sure and work through that, is that I'll follow up with them. I ask them, Hey, is

[00:18:10] there anything I can be praying for you for what's going on right now?

[00:18:14] Hey, are you, what? What's

[00:18:15] going on with your math class? Are you dealing with a

[00:18:18] situation at school that wasn't so advantageous for you before?

[00:18:21] Like they know that I am a man who's going to stand with them. I love them. I hug

[00:18:27] on

[00:18:27] Ahmard Vital: them. I

[00:18:29] I connect with their parents and ask them,

[00:18:31] Hey what can I do to support you for him?

[00:18:35] And that's just things that I've learned over time. So it's just an idea of having an open heart and the trust

[00:18:44] and knowing that.

[00:18:45] The love and light is shared with them. I'm not gonna say it was an overnight process, but over time they know there's an accountability factor.

[00:18:55] They

[00:18:55] know that you know where. As much as I love you, I'm also going to hold you accountable. I will [00:19:00] tell you when you've disappointed me, I will tell you when you're being disrespectful around adults. So there's a, there's an idea that they know that. There's no free lunch,

[00:19:09] but they know that the love is there for them and they love it.

[00:19:13] I've always shared with people like, kids don't want the yolo, do what you want type of

[00:19:17] mentality. They want

[00:19:18] discipline. And I give them that. I give them benchmarks like, Hey, this

[00:19:23] is what's going to happen. We have one week to be able to complete this, and I expect this to be done, and I will be checking on you every three days until that happens.

[00:19:30] And so there is a connection there. And I think that over time I built up the idea that. They not only listen to me, but they love and respect me because I do show them what's needed to be able to move on to next levels of life. And I was a school teacher for 16 years and I always think it's funny because I actually had a list, and you'll get a kick out of this, that I'd gone and I'd looked up quotes from each generation starting with at that time.

[00:19:57] Scott Maderer: It was the [00:20:00] early two thousands. And I literally went every generation, and I found a famous quote by somebody talking about hell, because of this younger generation, the world has gone to hell in a hand basket. This, the world just destroyed. And I managed to trace the quotes back all the way to Aristotle.

[00:20:16] Nice. So it's like pretty much folks for a thousand plus years we've been talking, complaining about the youth of today and so far so they, my point being that no matter what the young people are doing, they're not the enemy that sometimes we think we are.

[00:20:34] But as adults, so often that's the message they get instead of the message of what can I do to help you? What can I do to lift you up? What can I do to respect you? So I think that's, I that's important that you're giving them that message. And with that in mind, why do you think why do you think community is important to this process?

[00:20:55] What, how does, whether they're seeking community with you, whether they're seeking community [00:21:00] with each other, whether they're plugging into a church, family, or how does community play out in this path that that young people are taking towards success?

[00:21:11] Ahmard Vital: Community is extremely important because life is not meant to be lived alone, and none of us reach success alone.

[00:21:18] Lately, I've always said that you need community. You need a church community a social community build something around the school, build something around sports and activities. You

[00:21:27] need communities everywhere because they groom you. They, it is, it's almost like an accountability deal when you're part of groups.

[00:21:34] You're part of

[00:21:35] teams because now there's a shared value and there's a

[00:21:39] shared goal, and so then you realize that. Not only is it not about you,

[00:21:45] but it's for the good of the whole, but everyone's pouring into each

[00:21:48] other to where everybody's cup stays full and overflowing. Lately I've always said that you

[00:21:55] need you need a mentor, you need these different things.

[00:21:57] You need you need community, [00:22:00] but there's something I've been discussing lately and I need to put. The guardrails that need to

[00:22:06] put it into a more of a principle and practice. But I've been sharing with 'em lately that you need three people, three solid people in your board, in your com in your council.

[00:22:15] Yeah. So it's like you have your own personal board

[00:22:18] of directors. E every corporation has 'em they have meetings and things of that nature. And I say a minimum of three because I

[00:22:25] say you need three people who can

[00:22:29] hold things together for you. Let's just say you have a kind of a catchall mentor, someone who's.

[00:22:35] A jack of many things, but

[00:22:37] he's like everything for you. He he leans in on you. You give him your goals and he holds you accountable. It's Hey, where are we on these goals for the year, for the month, whatever

[00:22:46] that looks like. Also,

[00:22:47] you need someone who's skills-based, right?

[00:22:50] Someone who, whatever profession or whatever skill or trade you're trying to do, you want the expert so you can

[00:22:57] Be the apprentice to that person [00:23:00] and they can teach you something. They can teach you that,

[00:23:02] and then I say, you need someone. Someone like yourself

[00:23:05] Like a minister, pastor to where you're more

[00:23:10] barometer, the person who can look at you and say what you're doing is not

[00:23:14] illegal, but this is not the right path.

[00:23:16] You want to go down someone who can hell you. They're like, Hey I don't suggest you

[00:23:23] go this route because it leads to more dark things. Someone who's, it's almost like your moral barometer. I was, that was one of the things I was really heard about when I lost my

[00:23:32] father. Was that my dad

[00:23:35] was an artist and I went in the media, there's two totally different ends of the spectrum, but just when life things were happening, I would call my dad.

[00:23:43] And the beautiful thing is when he was retired, it didn't matter what time you called him, he always answered late twenties, early thirties. I really leaned in on that a lot. And I would just ask him questions about things in life and I just wanted his take on it. And he's [00:24:00] you know when it feels like the right thing to do, look at who's all going to be affected and make your choice from there.

[00:24:05] And it's just wow, that's such amazing wisdom. Who all's affected? And also this is not always just about you. There's sometimes you're going to make a decision that's better for everybody else around you, but not so awesome for you. But it's the right thing to do. So you need that more barometer person in your life, possibly someone at the church.

[00:24:25] It can be a coach,

[00:24:26] but the bottom line is you need a minimum of three people around you at all times. And I'm telling young men. As, as early as 13, get that council of people around you. Get some tears going. If you're 13, look for someone in their mid twenties. Look for someone in their mid thir in their early thirties, and then get some, get the patriarch, get that old school your 60 plus grandfather.

[00:24:47] Everyone has to come through and see him and has all the wisdom of life in him. Get those levels of people around you asking questions and just be inquisitive and be humble and work under what. [00:25:00] Program and goals you have so that they can help you get to another level. That is what is so important

[00:25:04] about community, and it's very important during this time

[00:25:07] because everything's teaching them not to do this.

[00:25:10] Curl up in your hole, be in your silo just, oh, pray by yourself. And just all of these things that are just disconnecting people from other people. And of course, COVID had exacerbated

[00:25:22] that on a whole nother

[00:25:23] level. And so now we got a bunch of youngsters who don't realize that.

[00:25:29] The community is what keeps us all together and grounded. When you know whether it's your church or your listeners' churches, like when you had that day, you know what I'm talking about. That day we're

[00:25:41] like, everything is going wrong from start

[00:25:44] to finish. You spill coffee on your shirt, you stubbed your toe, your car wouldn't start.

[00:25:48] You got a flat tire, the kids are mad at you, lunch was cold, and then you just go into the church on Wednesday or Sunday surface and just be like, Hey man, cuz somebody just gimme a [00:26:00] word and then next thing you know, you have 8, 9, 10 hands circled around you and just praying for you to, just, to just understand that that together we're better at this and we can help someone out of those situations.

[00:26:13] And that keeps you from having those negative thoughts that can lead to very bad things. The self-harm the depression, the anxiety. Not to say that those things still couldn't happen, but when you have a community around you and you have people who love and pour into you, you are less likely to go down that dark path.

[00:26:31] And so that is what the importance of community is from the time you're a teenager, all the way to the time God calls you home. Absolutely. That and I think like for me, sometimes, some of the folks I'm coaching are significantly younger than me and. There's times and occasions I have where I'll say, okay, let me take off my coaching hat and now I'm gonna talk to you as the old gray-haired guy hat it's just me.

[00:26:59] Scott Maderer: This is just called, [00:27:00] I'm 50 and I've seen some stuff correct it. Nothing to do with coaching, just has to do with, I'm older than you and I've seen some stuff and maybe I can help you save you some pain by telling you. Before you have to go experience it for yourself. Think about this.

[00:27:17] And what's funny is usually that's very well received from folks they get that that that idea of I don't think young people, cuz everyone talks about young people don't wanna listen to people that are older than them, but it. In my experience, that's not true.

[00:27:33] They just don't want to listen to people that are just telling them what to do or bossing 'em around or whatever. They'll, they like experience, they like wisdom. They don't want a boss, usually they've got enough of those in their life already.

[00:27:50] Ahmard Vital: No doubt. And again, like you said it's the trust factor.

[00:27:53] Sure. It's the tru. It's like kids aren't crazy. They know. They know when someone's [00:28:00] authentic. They can

[00:28:01] peep someone out. Like you said. They don't want a boss. They want someone who's just I. Hey, let me lean in on this and true and truly listen to them and not just I'm older so I know this and that.

[00:28:11] I have some 17

[00:28:12] year olds who are smarter than some of the 30 year olds I went to school with.

[00:28:15] Scott Maderer: So I know some 50 year olds that still haven't grown up. True. And like you said, I'm actually seeing the opposite as well. Youngsters are yearning.

[00:28:27] Ahmard Vital: For this, and I think

[00:28:28] it's because there's that perception out there that, like you said, that oh this generation going away.

[00:28:34] Hell in the hand basket, all of that stuff. It's actually no, this generation is going to be part of the revival. This generation is about to is about to turn the tides of all the stuff that we have not been paying attention to for the past 40 plus years that we took our hands off the steering wheel.

[00:28:51] You mean they're

[00:28:51] Scott Maderer: gonna have to clean up her mask yes. And and I love that you said that, cause now what is our job? Our job is to pour [00:29:00] out all of it. When we get around young people, I'm talking about dump it all out on them. Hey, what do you need to, when you go into that school, you are the light.

[00:29:08] Ahmard Vital: What can I provide? God, give me what I need to pour into these youngsters over here so that when they go into the grocery store, when they go into the schools, when they go in their sports teams, it's okay, I'm geared up. I got the full armor on, and I'm ready to go to battle against everything. That is what our

[00:29:25] job is, right?

[00:29:26] Our job is to make sure they are equipped. And That's where I, that's where my mindset is

[00:29:33] now. That's what I pray for when I pray for my youngsters. I pray.

[00:29:38] They stay safe and that you protect them and

[00:29:42] what they got going on. But at the same time,

[00:29:44] God created me what I need to be to pour into them

[00:29:48] more proper and in a better way.

[00:29:51] This is not about me, right? This is not about me yet. I do know that we are all called [00:30:00] all of us, especially Gen X, right? We are called to be able to pour in to the gen generations behind

[00:30:06] us. And unfortunately some have not answered the call, and that's okay because there's enough saints in the streets to be able to take care of this.

[00:30:13] But our job is to go out and make sure the next generation has a better, more fruitful life than we have. Why would we not want that?

[00:30:22] I've never understood adults who just, who are jealous of the generations behind. I was like, don't you want things to be better? Don't you want to see a progress?

[00:30:33] Are you kidding me? I think. It's like parents who are jealous of their children. I'm just like, what are we

[00:30:39] Scott Maderer: doing? It usually comes out of fear because of what? Fear of what change Progress feels change and change is

[00:30:49] Ahmard Vital: scary. I get that. I can understand that. However, as long as a change is a change towards godly principles based in bi [00:31:00] base, biblically, I'm good for it.

[00:31:03] Because right now the change needs to go back to just getting to what the word is talking about. Cuz we're so far off the rails right

[00:31:09] now, then we need to get back to that. So I totally understand that. But yeah, fear and fear is a powerful emotion. Extremely powerful emotion. So what are some tips or keys when you're talking to your young people and you're trying to help 'em get off to a really good start in life?

[00:31:27] Scott Maderer: Or if you're speaking right now to a listener who maybe is that dad or that mom who's worried about their kids, what are some of the keys or most important things for us to think about to help 'em get off to the

[00:31:39] Ahmard Vital: right start? You talking about as far as to the kids or from the parents to the kids?

[00:31:44] Pick

[00:31:44] one. Obviously from the kids standpoint I

[00:31:49] do like to focus a lot on proverb, honoring your father and mother. That's, to me, that's the foundation of everything that's going on right now. [00:32:00] Every issue we have going on is the idea of what is your relationship like

[00:32:05] at home? Every issue,

[00:32:07] crime.

[00:32:09] Teen pregnancy, anxiety, depression situation, it is all rooted on the fact of what is going on or not going on

[00:32:18] at the home. And I think because of how society has completely decimated families at every level, I think that I'm working a lot

[00:32:31] now with the idea that you honor your father and mother because that's who God called for you to bring you and give you life.

[00:32:39] Not saying you have to honor the actions.

[00:32:41] Not saying you have to honor the mindset. I said honor the position.

[00:32:45] Honor the role God plays. Put them in your life

[00:32:48] for right. And what I, And so you want to get to the point Cause see, what ends up happening is if you don't honor your father and mother, you take those sins and

[00:32:58] you just go ahead and internalize 'em.

[00:32:59] And [00:33:00] then you become the very thing that you. Didn't want many times. I'm not saying it happens every time, but it does happen a lot where

[00:33:06] you

[00:33:06] have

[00:33:06] Ahmard Vital: so much resentment. And again, we know that when forgiveness is not on

[00:33:10] the table, we have a real

[00:33:11] problem. And forgiveness is not easy. So

[00:33:16] somebody might

[00:33:17] be like My, my mom never loved me.

[00:33:19] She never hugged me, and she walked out on me when I was eight years old, and I'll never forgive her. Okay. But just know when you become a mother, when you become a parent, you are gonna still have that same corrosion within you, and it's going to come out in your children as well. So just be prepared for that.

[00:33:37] So let's go ahead and address those now. So from the kids standpoint, honoring the father and mother other honoring that position it's something I really want to stress very highly and just really being. Being the child your parents need for you. I stress to my youngsters find one thing your parents do for you and take that [00:34:00] responsibility, whether it's cleaning your room, whether it's washing your clothes, whether it's cleaning your bathroom,

[00:34:06] what, whatever it is doing some yard work.

[00:34:09] I want you to take something that your parents have done for so long and you've

[00:34:12] taken for granted and take that off of their plate. Because. A lot of parents out there even if they are really good at what they do as far as being parents, most parents still have a level of, I don't measure up, and there's still a guilt factor.

[00:34:29] And I've learned that over time when especially talking with a lot of with a lot of mothers I didn't know there was a thing called mom guilt until five years ago. There's this. Inherent, like

[00:34:40] moms are busting their humps,

[00:34:42] taking care of the house. Dad's out slaying buffalos and goats and everything,

[00:34:46] and bringing back the bacon.

[00:34:48] And it's just like they, there's a part

[00:34:50] that just doesn't feel like

[00:34:52] you're getting through to your kids or you're not doing enough. And it's just some of 'em, you're like, how much

[00:34:56] more can you do? Like you are like, you're pretty awesome. [00:35:00] But it's almost It's never enough. And so I want, I think that

[00:35:05] sometimes, even though

[00:35:06] that is an internal issue with fathers and mothers, I do think that the kids can play a role in that and telling your mom and dad, you love them,

[00:35:17] That's a missing art sometimes just go in there randomly and just say dad, I love you. I love the fact of what you've provided for me. I'm grateful that we had this house. I'm thankful you're my father. And do

[00:35:30] the same thing with your mom. Mom, thank you for the care and love you put into the things you do for me.

[00:35:36] And I think that's something that, that's just been missing, just the little things.

[00:35:41] And so from the kids standpoint, I would go there and obviously we talked a lot about community. That is one of the huge things. And we leaned into that pretty strongly. But I will say the last thing, and it can go for the kids side of thing, or the parent side of thing is I want you to develop, A servant leadership, a servant mindset[00:36:00] going forward?

[00:36:02] I don't, I think if we shared in the pregame notes where I live my life on three words gratitude, service, and impact. And I use that

[00:36:13] as my,

[00:36:15] my demand who raised me the more barometers not here anymore. So how about I put in my head that every action I take throughout the day needs to include those items.

[00:36:26] Gratitude, service and impact. And I'm like, okay, if I can

[00:36:30] stay true to that, I feel like I'm putting myself in a much better position to, to

[00:36:34] do what is needed for those around me. Again, it's not about you. It's not about me. It's about whom you serve. And so when that humility

[00:36:44] kicks

[00:36:44] in to where obviously we have the greatest examples of that.

[00:36:48] Jesus was the greatest example of service and humility. The washing of the feet and the feeding of everyone, and the healings and things of that nature. When he's tired and needs to go [00:37:00] recharge,

[00:37:00] somebody's can you come do one more? Can you do one more act?

[00:37:02] It's just oh, okay, let's go

[00:37:05] And it's just like he made himself available

[00:37:08] to people. And that's the example we're supposed to do. We're supposed to be a resource in the community. What, whatever your service is, whatever your jobs are, people out there, whatever you do for

[00:37:21] a living, that is your ministry.

[00:37:23] You can reach people through being a barber, landscaper, teacher, accountant shop owner, right? Working in oil and gas,

[00:37:33] working in entertainment, working in media.

[00:37:35] All of that is a ministry. It's a job and it pays you money, but it's a ministry because you have the opportunity to show the light to people.

[00:37:44] And you want to lean in on that.

[00:37:46] And so if I had to, if I had to narrow

[00:37:48] down, that

[00:37:48] would

[00:37:48] probably be the three things. It's community,

[00:37:51] honor your father and mother and be a servant leader

[00:37:54] And act with humility

[00:37:55] each and every day of your life.

[00:37:59] Scott Maderer: I've got a few [00:38:00] questions that I like to ask everybody, but before I go to those questions, is there anything else about what you're putting out there in the world, the work you're doing what would you like to sum up and make sure the listener takes away from what we've talked about today?

[00:38:15] Ahmard Vital: Oh man. Just make sure that the first and the best of everything you do goes to God. First, fruits, first of your talents, first of your money, first of your time, first of your service, first of everything. I have a morning ritual and I'm sure some of your people have this as well. The first thing I do, first of all, the first thing I do is reach for my men's devotional on the Bible.

[00:38:48] That's the first two things. I grab fir first and foremost, and I read my devotional for the day, and then I read my scripture for the day and then I pace while I'm reading the Bible. And then I pray. I pray for [00:39:00] all the people who are on my prayer list. I pray for my family. I pray for my colleagues. I pray for my clients.

[00:39:06] I pray for everyone I'm connected with. I pray for my church community. I pray for the pastors. I pray for those fighting the good fight I pray

[00:39:12] for. I pray for all sorts of

[00:39:15] people before I pray for myself first thing in the morning. And I would develop a practice like that where you're giving your first and your best to God.

[00:39:26] So that would be something that I would probably want to impart on your people. Of all the things I could have said I don't know why that one God just hit me

[00:39:34] just then. It was just like, Uhuh, no none of this other stuff. Give them the idea that the first fruits is given to the one who lives, moves and gives you life every day.

[00:39:49] Scott Maderer: Amen. My brand is inspired stewardship, and I run things through that lens of stewardship, and yet I've discovered that's one of those words that means a lot of different things to a [00:40:00] lot of different people. So when you hear the word stewardship, what does that word mean to you?

[00:40:04] And what does the impact of that word had on your life?

[00:40:08] Ahmard Vital: I'm I was glad and I was, and I in my preparation and in my quiet time, I was. I was leaning in on that and I was just like, Ooh, I like this question and I want to sit with it for a little while.

[00:40:22] And

[00:40:24] I look

[00:40:25] at it as a man's relationship to his father, to God. That's, to me, that's the foundation. And if I, it was two words that, that just kept standing out to me,

[00:40:38] it was obedience and

[00:40:40] management. Obedience and obedience is one of those words that

[00:40:45] has plagued all

[00:40:46] of us in every listener you have right now.

[00:40:49] But it's like we were talking about first fruits,

[00:40:54] and so when you talk about stewardship, it's like understanding that God [00:41:00] is all known, all powerful, all everything,

[00:41:04] and nothing of you exists without him. Period. End of story. And we need to be able to

[00:41:10] lean in on that and make sure that God is

[00:41:16] praised daily all the

[00:41:19] time.

[00:41:19] He's in control. And so it's our job to not only be grateful,

[00:41:24] but to pray without ceasing. To

[00:41:27] do what the Bible is calling us to do, the

[00:41:29] stewardship, to go do what he is calling us to do. What does he say? He said, draw people onto

[00:41:33] the kingdom, right? We're supposed to do that. We're supposed to pray without season.

[00:41:36] We're supposed to love our enemies, right? Take care of our

[00:41:40] neighbors. He'll sick, take care of the poor. And for me, stewardship is embodying all

[00:41:47] that together and

[00:41:48] knowing that you're going out every

[00:41:50] day

[00:41:51] with a mission. And that mission is not for you, is not about you. That mission is about honoring what God has done in your [00:42:00] life and to share that with others.

[00:42:04] So I think

[00:42:05] God has given me a gift and I'm so grateful for it. And so now instead of me going out and looking for opportunities

[00:42:16] to earn more,

[00:42:17] I'm looking for opportunities to serve more. And to me that's where the inspired stewardship, that's where stewardship comes in. That's where it's just okay, God, let me do your work first

[00:42:28] and let you add unto me what you think, what you see else for me

[00:42:32] to do.

[00:42:33] Seek first

[00:42:34] the kingdom. Not seek first your ambitions, your book, your new house, the car, new clothes, no, seek first the kingdom, and all that other stuff that you might not even see is important after you take care of the kingdom. I'll add that unto you and you'll be, and you'll be in a good place.

[00:42:51] So that's where I took your your stewardship, your inspired stewardship question. So I thank you for putting that in my life [00:43:00] because I that was something I really wanted to lean on in on and I sat with that, that, with that question for quite some

[00:43:06] Scott Maderer: time. Awesome.

[00:43:07] Thank you. And I like that. I like that obedience and management calling that out. I think that's a good way to sum it up. So this is my favorite question that I ask everybody, but some of my guests told me it's a, it's the hardest question I ask too. We'll see how that goes.

[00:43:23] So imagine for a minute that I had this magic machine and I could pluck you from where you are today and transport you into the future, maybe a hundred fifty, two hundred fifty years. And through the power of this machine, you were able to look back and see your entire life and see all of the connections, all of the ripples, all of the impacts that you've left behind.

[00:43:43] What impact do you hope you've left behind in the world?

[00:43:53] Ahmard Vital: I hope and pray that I have the [00:44:00] biggest, I won't say the biggest, the strongest, most capable army of saints to be ready on guard to protect. Everything that the word stands for going forward, where I have young men who are now older men who are leading homes, who are leading society, who are leading the future, who are leading churches, who are leading small groups, leading businesses with the values, with the integrity, with the godly spirit that is needed to make sure that God stays at the centerpiece to where I have

[00:44:39] I, to where I've.

[00:44:41] I've

[00:44:41] brought up enough young men to where it's making an impact in this country and across the world where it was just like I led the man who led the man who led the man who maybe is president one day and will restore the values of this country was built on those types [00:45:00] of things. I want to see that my legacy went beyond my own biological legacy, but

[00:45:07] Scott Maderer: to.

[00:45:09] Ahmard Vital: Where I just, where it's just hardcore on fire. Young men who are out there changing lives and creating more of themselves as a, as an out, as a, as an outreach to what I've done for them. And they've decided to take on the same characteristics and go build and continue building to where we can look back when we're posted up with our Heavenly Father and be like Because I think at the end of the day we're looking to hear those words, the well done words.

[00:45:45] You've done what you've called, what you've been called to be done doing. That is what I want to see, and I want to see the result of that to where long time ago someone says I, once I once knew this man who Invested in [00:46:00] me, and then of course it will trickle down to the young man who I poured into.

[00:46:04] And then it'll keep going and it'll keep going and it'll keep going. But the ripple effect will live on for years, decades, and millennials to come.

[00:46:14] Scott Maderer: So what's coming next for you is we continue on this journey into the rest of this year. What's on the roadmap?

[00:46:22] Ahmard Vital: Ah next week I'm traveling out to Austin. Speaking to a group out there and working, doing some service projects. Picking up back with the Boys and Girls Club here this summer.

[00:46:37] Going to be doing a curriculum building. May even get the opportunity to do a young men's program through that. I have some curriculum for that. Obviously through my church we have a ton of things going on. There. We meet weekly we got

[00:46:51] our youth conference coming up.

[00:46:54] We have our mission trip coming up in July.

[00:46:57] We have summer internship program. We're [00:47:00] working on student leadership and things of that nature and wanna lean in on all of those types of things. Cause I got some young men also. I was I was encouraged as I do coaching or whatever and obviously people hire me for doing that, but, I've committed to do three to four hours a month and more if needed to meet with young men who are on their way to college or on the back end of high school.

[00:47:25] Those older your junior seniors, your early college freshmen, I've been rotating those young men out. Meeting in the cafe of our church. It's turned into my office. It's a beautiful

[00:47:36] place cuz it's all set up with all the windows

[00:47:38] and light, all the light of God comes through there. And so just sitting down in there and bringing young men through.

[00:47:44] So we can talk and we can get them in a position to where they can make some more empowered moves in life. So that's a lot of the things going on. Looks like as of recently I'll be in New York in July right before I go to the mission trip. So it's definitely going to be a lot of things going on.

[00:47:59] [00:48:00] Looking to get out to some schools, some community centers. Some of my coaches have moved to other schools, so I'll probably be speaking to some football teams and some sports organizations here. Pretty soon, just man, if you want

[00:48:11] me to be honest For a long time, I would separate business from my work I do on Wednesdays and Sundays, because when you work in schools, they say Hey don't bring that into the school.

[00:48:25] And me being

[00:48:27] a a good boy and I was just like, okay, that's, that seems o that seems okay. And then after a while I realized I was in some places where my values were being compromised and. It was one of those like lining in the sand what side of this are you going to stand on?

[00:48:42] What do you stand

[00:48:42] for? Are you gonna stand for, are you

[00:48:44] gonna stand for godliness or are you gonna let the world tell you what you can and can't do? So then I think last year when I went into, when I went into one of my nonprofits, I was just like, Hey, you called me in here to fix a problem and I have some solutions, but they may

[00:48:59] come out of a book [00:49:00] that maybe you don't know much about or that you don't rock with.

[00:49:03] But if you called me in here and tell you, tell me. Otherwise, I'm leaning in on this. And what ended up happening is when I did that, there were

[00:49:13] kindergartners, first, second graders

[00:49:15] who were doing projects about love, respect, and gratitude, and they're putting God in Jesus on their projects. I didn't tell 'em to do that, but I think that when I came in with that type of heart, and I spoke in a certain type of way, never said one scripture in the room, but.

[00:49:31] Holy Spirit had been in the room before I got there clearly, because these kids was just like yeah. If I'm looking at the top four people, I love Jesus is number one. I'm like, oh, really? Beautiful. And so once I opened up in that way, I'm

[00:49:45] like, okay, there is no

[00:49:46] separation. This is who I am.

[00:49:48] I'm a

[00:49:49] ministry leader who speaks.

[00:49:51] I'm a follower of Christ who does curriculum, and that's where like I am

[00:49:55] now. And so what's next for me is

[00:49:58] To lean into that more, [00:50:00] continue to ask for God's guidance of, Hey, what do I need to become to take on the calling You are calling you you're calling me to do. And the beautiful thing is right now I'm a bit of a mess, I'll be honest with you.

[00:50:13] Because I keep getting stirred up and it's just Hey, I got somewhere else for you to be in. It's just Yeah, I thought we were finished up. Yeah, I understand. That's over there. Continue doing that. But let's go over here and do this. And The business plan that I put together that I thought was going to be the business plan has I will say slightly changed, but I'd

[00:50:32] be lying to myself.

[00:50:34] It's going through an overhaul, like in real time right now. And I'm grateful for that. But at the same time, it's

[00:50:42] It is I'm listening to God more intently

[00:50:46] now as to what is the next step. And it's he hasn't

[00:50:50] led me in, he hasn't led me anywhere. That's not been good, but it's tough not having

[00:50:56] all the plans laid out for what's supposed to happen if you, if that makes some

[00:50:59] Scott Maderer: sense.

[00:50:59] [00:51:00] Sure. Yeah. No, I will tell you that I will refer you to the quote from Dwight d Eisenhower. Plans mean nothing. Planning means everything. Meaning the act of planning is what's actually important, not the plan that you end up with, cuz it's gonna change anyway true. The plan is never gonna play out the way you thought it was, but the act of actually thinking about it and praying about it and leaning into it and doing all that's actually what's important.

[00:51:32] Yeah I don't think you know it's not the plan that comes out of it that's actually important. So the fact that the plans change, who cares? You know that's not what matters.

[00:51:46] Ahmard Vital: I hear that. I hear that.

[00:51:50] So that's where we are. That's where we

[00:51:52] Scott Maderer: are with that. Awesome. So you can find out more about Armad over on his website. [00:52:00] And I'll have a link to it, but it's at a H m A R D V I tl.com. Of course, I have a link to that over in the show notes. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the listener?

[00:52:13] Ahmard Vital: Yeah we're doing a, we're doing a lot of moves

[00:52:16] Getting out to a lot of young people and obviously here in my area we're doing a lot of that, but. We've been called to some places around the state and around the country. Obviously I'm here in Texas but United

[00:52:28] has been good so we can make moves if need be

[00:52:31] And get that out there.

[00:52:33] Obviously. Now what five steps to get up and create the most of life is a great resource for. Young adults who are looking to make transitions in their lives. And anybody who's really trying to make

[00:52:43] a bold move whether you're changing careers,

[00:52:47] going back to

[00:52:47] school, starting a family, like whatever your, whatever major move

[00:52:51] you're trying to make professionally and personally.

[00:52:54] This book will get you there, taking you through the five steps to get you through there. Obviously I want to be able to [00:53:00] offer them a free digital copy that my publisher has made that possible for them. This book. Now what.com is book now

[00:53:07] what.com.

[00:53:08] We'd love for you to be able to purchase your own copy.

[00:53:10] It's available on all platforms that sell books online. Whichever one is your favorite one. Be sure to go there, obviously ahmad vial.com as was mentioned earlier reach out to me if you say you go, you say you were at the inspired stewardship podcast and you were a listener here.

[00:53:26] Just send me a message through my website or through info.com. If you mention this website and you have a young person in your life who's struggling right now and just needs maybe just a word I'm offering 30 minute consults with those youngsters if they need it. Just just mention this podcast here, and we'll set up something where we can go through a quick discovery call and at least see where the damage is, see what the adversity is, and come up with a quick plan to be able to work through that.

[00:53:57] I do wanna offer that to your guests here today.[00:54:00] We're leaning in and looking to save as many young people as possible because they are our future and we can't get anywhere without them. And I want to lean in on that. So if there's an issue with someone out there going through that by all means, please reach out to me.

[00:54:13] I'm pretty easy to find all the social media platforms. It's all my name, so if you know how to spell my name, you can find me. And and Scott said being the show notes and everything, reach out to me. I'd love to hear from you all and get your thoughts on what we spoke on today.

[00:54:28] Scott Maderer: I will definitely put a link to the book and that's a very kind gift to reach out and offer that 30 minute. Consult. So I'll put a note about that in the show notes as well. So if you've got a young person and you're interested in taking advantage of that, you can either go over to the show notes or go over to the website there and find that would be

[00:54:49] Ahmard Vital: awesome.

[00:54:52] Absolutely. And I thank you for having me on. I love being able to share the work [00:55:00] that needs to be done with our young people. Think it's a group. Especially the,

[00:55:05] especially with the young fellows they've just been told so many things that are just not true and not advantageous to their wellbeing.

[00:55:14] And there's not many of us out here standing up for that cause. But I don't care about the numbers. I care about the work. I do want to lean in on that and I want to encourage anyone who wants to join me in that fight, let's let's link up and let's go out here and make something of the time we have on this earth.

[00:55:38] Scott Maderer: Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and

[00:55:51] find

[00:55:51] Scott Maderer: a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode, Please. Please do us a favor. Go over to [00:56:00] inspired stewardship.com/itunes.

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