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Steve Grimes [00:00:05]:
Hey. This is Steve Grimes, and when I’m not climbing mountains, I’m listening to John Garrett on What’s Your “And”?

John Garrett [00:00:11]:
Welcome to episode 611 of What’s Your “And”?. This is John Garrett and each Wednesday, I interview a professional who, just like me, is known for a hobby or a passion or an interest outside of work. And to put it in another way, it’s encouraging people to find their and. Those things above and beyond your technical skills, the things that actually differentiate you when you’re at work, it’s the answer to the question of who else are you beyond the job title. And if you like what the show is about, be sure to check out the award-winning book. It’s on Amazon, Indigo, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, a few other websites. All the links are at what’s your and dot com.

John Garrett [00:00:50]:
The book goes more in-depth with the research behind why these outsider work passions are so crucial to our corporate culture. I can’t say how much it means that everyone’s reading it and writing such great reviews on Amazon. Thank you so much for those. And more importantly, changing the cultures where they work because of it. And if you want me to read it to you, that’s right. This voice reading the book. Look for what’s your hand on Audible or wherever you get your audiobooks. And please don’t forget to hit subscribe to the podcast.

John Garrett [00:00:49]:
You don’t miss any of the future episodes. I love sharing such interesting stories each and every week, and this week is no different with my guest, Steve Grimes. He’s the firm administrator at Whipplewood CPAs in Littleton, Colorado, And now he’s with me here today. Steve, thanks so much for taking time to be with me on What’s Your “And”?.

Steve Grimes [00:01:32]:
John, it’s a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

John Garrett [00:01:34]:
This is gonna be a blast. We’ve met up for lunch. We’ve hung out a couple times, and I’m excited to, have you be a part of this, man. This is gonna be great. Yeah.

Steve Grimes [00:01:41]:
I’m excited to be here.

John Garrett [00:01:42]:
Yeah. And then, I mean, I have 17 rapid fire questions that I I probably shoulda asked you when we had lunch, but I didn’t because I didn’t wanna make it weird. So let’s just do it in public for everybody to listen.

Steve Grimes [00:01:51]:
Sounds like a plan.

John Garrett [00:01:52]:
Okay. Alright. We’ll start you out with a this is a fun one. Favorite animated character?

Steve Grimes [00:01:57]:
Wile E. Coyote. Oh, cool. When he falls off a cliff.

John Garrett [00:02:00]:
Yeah. Man. Test. That’s so good. That’s so good. I love it, man. Oh, man. That’s so I’m not even sure if kids are allowed to watch that anymore because it’s so violent.

Steve Grimes [00:02:09]:
Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. They could get away with that stuff 40 years ago, but not now.

John Garrett [00:02:13]:
Right. But it’s self inflicted violence. It’s not like you know? Come on now. How about a favorite color? Blue. Blue. Mine too. Solid. How about our least favorite color?

Steve Grimes [00:02:22]:
Let’s go with black.

John Garrett [00:02:24]:
Black. Okay. Alright. I like it. There you go. How about it when it comes to puzzles? More Sudoku, crossword, jigsaw puzzle maybe, Wordle?

Steve Grimes [00:02:34]:
Definitely word finder.

John Garrett [00:02:36]:
Oh, yeah. Where it’s like all the letters and you gotta, like, find the word in the middle. Yeah. They get those, like, reverse diagonal. It’s like, wait. That’s cheating. Come on now.

Steve Grimes [00:02:43]:
Right. Right. Whenever we take the kids to a restaurant or whatnot, I am always grabbing their, like, kids menus from them and I’m doing the word finder form.

John Garrett [00:02:51]:
That’s great. That’s awesome. I love it. Okay. How about your first concert that you can remember?

Steve Grimes [00:02:57]:
Garth Brooks.

John Garrett [00:02:58]:
Oh, solid. There you go. Yeah. It’s a legend. Yeah. I love asking that question because, I mean, I love going to concerts, but, also, the answers are always amazing. I mean, it’s it’s yeah. It’s always great.

John Garrett [00:03:09]:
How about a favorite actor or an actress?

Steve Grimes [00:03:11]:
I’m gonna go with Harrison Ford.

John Garrett [00:03:14]:
Ah, yeah. That’s great movies. Always. Yeah. How about Star Wars or Star Trek?

Steve Grimes [00:03:21]:
Star Trek. Oh, okay. I thought

John Garrett [00:03:23]:
we were gonna Harrison Ford it all the way through, but, nope, he’s twitched it up on me. Alright. Alright. Star Trek. There we go. How about your computer? More of a PC or a Mac?

Steve Grimes [00:03:32]:
Definitely PC.

John Garrett [00:03:34]:
Yeah. Me too. Are you more cats or dogs? Dogs. Dogs. Yeah. Easy. How about, oh, this is a fun one. Suit and tie or jeans and a t shirt?

Steve Grimes [00:03:42]:
Oh, jeans and a t shirt. Absolutely. All the way.

John Garrett [00:03:46]:
And even then, jeans are optional. But, like,

Steve Grimes [00:03:48]:
it’s Just the t shirt.

John Garrett [00:03:51]:
Yeah. Just the t shirt. Right? We’re we’re on video chat. Why not? Whatever. That’s awesome. I love it so much. Favorite toppings on a pizza? All meat. Just all the meats.

Steve Grimes [00:04:03]:
All the meats.

John Garrett [00:04:03]:
There you go. That totally counts. I could see that. How about ice cream? I’m a huge ice cream drunk. Are you going in a cup or in a cone?

Steve Grimes [00:04:09]:
Definitely a cup.

John Garrett [00:04:10]:
Cup. Yeah. That way that you don’t lose any.

Steve Grimes [00:04:13]:
Uh-huh.

John Garrett [00:04:13]:
Yep. Oh, no. I hear you. Well, since you got the accounting background, will it go balance sheet or income statement?

Steve Grimes [00:04:19]:
Oh, gotta go with the balance sheet, man. Okay. That’s where it’s at.

John Garrett [00:04:23]:
That’s where it’s at. I don’t know what it is, but everyone says that. Like, like, goodwill? What is it? Like, I don’t know. But that that’s there too. How about a favorite number?

Steve Grimes [00:04:33]:
How about 7? John Oway.

John Garrett [00:04:36]:
Yeah. There you go. That’s in a good reason as well. How about when it comes to books, audiobook, ebook, or real book?

Steve Grimes [00:04:42]:
Real book. I just love the feel of the paper in my hand and, like, turning the pages. I just can’t get into those ebook things. Nope. Too old fashioned, I guess.

John Garrett [00:04:52]:
Yeah. No. No. I’m the same, man. I’m the same. And the auto version, I’ve gotten into a little bit because you can really listen in double speed or whatever, but definitely real book. Toilet paper roll is important. Over or under? Definitely over.

John Garrett [00:05:06]:
Definitely over. Yeah. Are you changing it, like, at people’s houses when you go type of thing? Or is it just more of, like

Steve Grimes [00:05:11]:
Yeah. You know, that sounds like something I would do, but I haven’t I haven’t thought of that. So

John Garrett [00:05:15]:
But the statute of limitations hasn’t passed yet, John. So I’m gonna ignore that you asked me that question. Right. And Jeff, if you’re listening, shut up about it. It’s like, it wasn’t me. Like no. But, anyway and the last one, the favorite thing you have or the favorite thing you own?

Steve Grimes [00:05:32]:
So I am, like, a big time book junkie, and I have all these, like, old, like, old, old books. I have an original Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Wow. Like, 1850 or something like that. Yeah. It was my grandfather’s. I have no idea where he got it from, probably his grandfather. You know? So, but, yeah, it’s on my bookshelf.

Steve Grimes [00:05:55]:
It’s like a 170 years old. It’s awesome.

John Garrett [00:05:58]:
That’s super awesome. And, plus, I mean, it goes with some of your writing as well. Like, I mean I mean, the book nerd, but also the writing side of you as well. I mean, this is definitely plays into that too, which I know is one of your ands, but the and that you wanna really hit on because the trip you just got back from, mountain climbing, Like, how did you get started doing this? I know in Colorado, it’s a thing, but, like, not everybody in Colorado mountain climbs. That’s for sure.

Steve Grimes [00:06:23]:
Oh, no. No. Not at all. You know, I was born in Kansas, and I grew up there. Spent the first 29 years of my life in Kansas.

John Garrett [00:06:30]:
Well, then, like, a a pitcher’s mound is the mountain there. Like

Steve Grimes [00:06:33]:
Pretty much. Yeah. Highway overpasses. You know?

John Garrett [00:06:36]:
That’s where we went sledding when I was a kid. Like, there you go. Like, that’s awesome.

Steve Grimes [00:06:41]:
So, you know, when I moved out to Colorado, I’m, you know, I moved out here for the lifestyle and and for the mountains and for hiking and that kind of stuff, you know, all the all the stuff we didn’t have in Kansas. And so, like, my 1st year here, I climbed Mount Bairstadt, which is kinda you know, it’s one of the mountains that people tend to start out with. And, man, I was I was hooked from there because, you know, it’s a physical challenge. It’s a mental challenge. And then when you get to the top, you have this, like, feeling of accomplishment and, like, you can see forever. You know, there’s just so many good things about it, and I was just like, man, I would I just wanna do this all the time.

John Garrett [00:07:18]:
Yeah. Because I mean, out here in Colorado, they the the 14 or, like, 14,000 feet above sea level, I guess. Mhmm. So it’s not full 14,000 feet up, but, I mean, from where you’re starting. But still, I mean, that’s way high up there. And and I didn’t realize this till I was talking to somebody, But, like, you have to get off the mountain because there’s storms that come through, and there’s nothing else up there because the trees stop growing. And, like and so you’ve gotta get started at, like, whatever, 3 or 4 in the morning or something crazy like that.

Steve Grimes [00:07:46]:
Yeah. You have to start early. Yeah. Because those storms roll in about noon, oftentimes. And, yeah, when you’re up on the mountain, you are a lightning rod. Right. You’re the tallest thing for miles. So, yeah, the light the lightning is gonna find you, so you you have to get down as fast as you can.

John Garrett [00:08:04]:
That’s so amazing. And then and then from there, you were hooked, and then the journey just kept going.

Steve Grimes [00:08:10]:
Right. Right. There’s 58 14ers in Colorado depending on what list you follow. I’ve done 34 of them, so little over halfway there.

John Garrett [00:08:20]:
Yeah. That’s impressive, man. That’s awesome. And then the trip you just took, which was I don’t even know how many teenagers that one is. But, that’s yeah. I just got back from Africa, which is awesome, man, in in Kilimanjaro. Like like, how did that idea like, was like, well, why not? Right?

Steve Grimes [00:08:40]:
Yeah. Pretty much. It was basically a decade in the making. So I started thinking about and planning this trip. It was back in 2010 and, you know, I was starting to check off some bucket list items and, you know, I, I had a few 14ers under my belt, so I thought, well, why not just go climb a 20,000 foot mountain? So I started planning it, and then life kinda got in the way. I got married and had a couple of kids and, yeah, that kind of, slowed down my progress. But, yeah, just a few years ago, I took it back up and I’m like, alright. I’m gonna, you know, I’m gonna do this.

Steve Grimes [00:09:19]:
So, the wife was interested in doing it with me, so we both went and, yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was a life changing experience, not just because it was a bucket list item, but, you know, climbing a 19,300 foot mountain is definitely something that you can look back on and say, hey. I’m I’m kinda proud that I did that.

John Garrett [00:09:41]:
Yeah. It’s just such a a monumental feat, but it’s great to hear that. I mean, it’s, you know, 10 years in the making. Like, this was inside you. Like, you had to get this. Like, I mean, it’s just something that you just had to do. I think that’s so fantastic, you know, that that you did it. I mean, what is that like? Is it a one day thing? Or is it, like, a multiple day thing? Or, like, how do you how do you even go on that journey?

Steve Grimes [00:10:04]:
Yeah. So we did it in 6 days. There’s several routes up the mountain. We did what’s called the Machame route, and it’s normally 6 or 7 days. We did it in 6. We were intending to do it in 7, but we did it in 6, and I’ll have to tell that story. But you start at about 5,000 feet, which is the base camp for Kilimanjaro. So 1st day you go up to about 10,000 feet.

Steve Grimes [00:10:28]:
2nd day you go up to about 12. And then so you just keep ratcheting up as you go up the mountain. And day 3, you’ll go up to about 15,000 feet and you’ll come down to 13, and then you’ll there’s a camp there. So the idea is that you climb high and camp low, so to speak, and that helps you acclimate

John Garrett [00:10:47]:
Yeah.

Steve Grimes [00:10:48]:
To the high altitude. And, you know, we living here in Colorado, our house is about 6000 feet. So that’s hopeful. Right? But still, when you start getting up to 15, 16000 feet, man, you can feel it. And I had the first bout of altitude sickness that I have ever had in my life on Kilimanjaro on the 3rd day when we went up to 15,000 feet. And, yeah, it, like, freaked me out. I’ve never experienced it before. And, you know, I got a headache and got a stomachache and, you know, all those classic symptoms.

Steve Grimes [00:11:22]:
And I’m like, oh my god. They’re gonna have to, like, airlift me off the mountain. Right. You know? So I was pretty freaked out, but the guides and my wife, they calmed me down and gave me some rice for dinner and, you know, some bread and that kind of stuff to settle my stomach and whatnot. Went to bed early in the tent that night and woke up the next morning, and I was ready to run through a brick wall and did the rest of the trip no problem at all. But, you know, altitude sickness, it it can affect anyone, even someone who’s, you know, climbing 14ers all the time and lives at high altitude and all that. So that was, you know, definitely a challenge on the trip for me, but more mental than anything. The trip is all mental.

Steve Grimes [00:12:06]:
You know, we had a, we had a friend of ours from the Netherlands who was climbing with us. So she she lives, like, below sea level. Right? Yeah. Exactly. You know, and she made the trip just fine. She took it slow, and that’s key. You know, you have to hike really slow to help your body acclimate and whatnot, but it’s mostly a mental battle, not a physical one.

John Garrett [00:12:28]:
Interesting. No. That’s awesome. And and so then, like, what made it go from 7 down to was there a cable car or something? Like, what did you skip a level? Like, what like, because that’s the route I’ll take. Right. Yeah. The the

Steve Grimes [00:12:42]:
whole airlifting off the mountain. Yeah. Exactly. We started our our our summit day at midnight on the 5th day.

John Garrett [00:12:51]:
Oh, wow.

Steve Grimes [00:12:52]:
That’s what you normally do, you know, because you’re you’re trying to power up to the top as fast as you can. The last camp is at 15,000 feet. So you go up that last 4000 feet and, you know, starting at midnight. And the hope is that they get you up there. The guides get you up at the top somewhere around 7, maybe 8 in the morning. And we got to the top at 5:45, which was, yeah, super fast. We passed pretty much everyone going up the mountain. And I like to think that’s a little bit due to where we live and all the 14ers that we’ve done and that kind of stuff.

Steve Grimes [00:13:28]:
But, yeah, we got up there and it was still dark, and then we got off the top as fast as we could because it was, I don’t know, it was probably 10 degrees with a 30, 40 mile an hour wind, so it was brutal at the top. Just really, really cold. And, you know, we were dressed for it, but still

John Garrett [00:13:48]:
Yeah. You don’t wanna hang out in that. Nobody. No.

Steve Grimes [00:13:51]:
No. Absolutely not. So we started down right about 6 in the morning, and we just, like, powered down. Like, it’s so easy to go down when you’ve spent the the prior 5 days, you know, climbing up 14,000 feet. Yeah. So we got back to camp at like 7 o’clock in the morning or something like that. And our guide, we we thought he was joking at first. He was like, are you are you ready to go all the way down to the bottom today? And we were like, yeah.

Steve Grimes [00:14:20]:
Yeah. Whatever. So we got camp packed up, and we started down the trail. And we got to what’s supposed to be the last camp, your your descending camp. We got there at, like, 11 o’clock in the morning, and we just had another 6 miles to go. And we’re like, why not? Let’s finish this up. And they were, like, they were kinda like dangling a carrot. The guides were dangling a carrot, and they were like, hey.

Steve Grimes [00:14:44]:
If we get you down, you know, we’ll take you on a safari.

John Garrett [00:14:47]:
Oh, there you go.

Steve Grimes [00:14:48]:
Right? So we’re like, okay. Well, like, let’s do this. So we descended 14,000 feet in one day, and I’m not exactly sure what the mileage was that we did. Probably 12, 13 miles that day. So it was really, really difficult, and it was kinda tough walking the next day, but it was totally worth it.

John Garrett [00:15:08]:
Yeah. Well, I mean, you’re sitting in a jeep on safari. So, like, why not? Yeah. Yeah. Totally. That’s fantastic, man. That’s that’s so cool. I love it so much, man.

John Garrett [00:15:17]:
And congrats on doing that. Like, that’s incredibly awesome. Like, it really is. And do you feel at all like any of this or all of it translates to work since you’ve been back especially, but even the 14ers before that that you were doing, you know, certainly in in a smaller or a different way. But how how does this apply to work?

Steve Grimes [00:15:35]:
Yeah. You know, I I I think it does. It it goes back to what I was saying earlier about, you know, it being a mental battle and, you know, just the perseverance that you gain from climbing mountains, the, you know, the mental perseverance, you know, the resilience that it takes to keep on going. Because there are times when, you know, you’re at 12, 13000 feet here in Colorado, and, you know, you are sucking air and your lungs are burning and your legs are burning, and the only thing your mind says is get me to the bar. I need a hamburger and a beer, and the top is the last thing on your mind. Just that that mental fortitude to keep going, that really comes in handy at work some days. You know?

John Garrett [00:16:21]:
Oh, I can believe it, man. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Steve Grimes [00:16:24]:
But also the perspective too that I that I think you get from climbing mountains and doing, you know, adventurous stuff like that. You know? I’ve been in some situations on on some mountains where if I took a a wrong step, you know, I could fall and plummet to my death. Right? So when you’re at work and you know, you make a mistake or one of your employees makes a mistake or colleague or whatnot, and you realize, hey, like, no one’s gonna die from this mistake. Like, the Earth’s not gonna spin off its axis and hurl itself into the sun just because we got this one number wrong. So that mindset comes in handy as well.

John Garrett [00:17:02]:
Yeah. Yeah. And either way, we’re getting a burger and a beer on both one. So, like, it’s all good. Like, it’s all good. Yeah. No. But you’re so right.

John Garrett [00:17:09]:
I mean, it is that perspective of, like, just in general of, like, you know and also too, I have to imagine when you’re on top of a 14,000 foot or a 20,000 foot mountain that, everything seems pretty small. Like, all of a sudden, like, all the problems, all the issues, all the everything. It’s like, it’s pretty pretty minuscule in the grand scheme

Steve Grimes [00:17:28]:
of things. Literally and figuratively. Yep.

John Garrett [00:17:30]:
Yeah. No. I I love it so much. And and so how much do you talk about this at work? I mean, do coworkers and clients know about this side of you?

Steve Grimes [00:17:39]:
Yeah. Yeah. In general, they do. I keep a list behind my desk up on the wall of all the 14ers that I’ve done. And so I, you know, I check them off as I as I do them. So anytime anyone visits my office, they can look right behind my head and see, you know, who see what my progress is and how I’m doing.

John Garrett [00:17:56]:
Yeah. I love it. Yeah. I would just hand write it about Kilimanjaro in, like, all caps. Yeah.

Steve Grimes [00:18:01]:
That’s right.

John Garrett [00:18:01]:
It’s it’s like, how

Steve Grimes [00:18:02]:
you count it. Like,

John Garrett [00:18:03]:
we need to yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. I know it’s on Colorado and all that, but that’s a pretty good one. Yeah. But but I think it’s great that, you know, that you are sharing that side of you because, I mean, that’s a big part of who you are. You know? And and was there ever a part of your brain that told you, like, hey, don’t share this because no one cares or it has nothing to do with work?

Steve Grimes [00:18:22]:
Yeah. I think we all have that tendency to be a little reluctant to share our personal lives, but, you know, I think anything that we can do at work to humanize each other is super important.

John Garrett [00:18:33]:
Yeah. Yeah. And how have you seen that play out? Like that side of it, the humanizing side.

Steve Grimes [00:18:38]:
It helps build connections, you know, between coworkers. And that’s what culture is all about, I think, in a workplace is all of those little daily interactions, it’s not necessarily culture, isn’t necessarily all the, you know, swag we get or the, you know, snacks in the kitchen or, you know, additional days off and whatnot. It’s how people interact in an office and those relationships that you build.

John Garrett [00:19:03]:
Yeah. I I like to say it’s the non chargeable minutes that happen between the billable hours. You know, it’s it’s those really micro moments that matter, man. That’s so great. And in Whippewood, I mean, I remember talking to you. You guys do so many great things. Like, I mean, I love telling people, like, just because you’re whatever kind of company you are, engineering firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, whatever, doesn’t mean you have to act like it. And you guys definitely do not act like it, which is great.

John Garrett [00:19:28]:
It’s so awesome. And how much is it encouraged that people have ands and, you know, share them there and and some of the other things that make the culture at Whippewood unique, I guess, if you wanna share some of those as well.

Steve Grimes [00:19:40]:
Oh, absolutely. You know, that’s a that’s an important part of of who we are. Whenever we have a a visitor to the firm or if I’m talking to a friend or someone in my network about Whipplewood, I’ve I’ve literally heard some of them say, oh my god. You guys are accountants?

John Garrett [00:19:57]:
Right?

Steve Grimes [00:19:57]:
Yeah. Because we do this thing. We we have board meetings. Right? So not board meetings in the traditional sense that that you’d think of with a corporation or whatnot. No. We literally have longboards, skateboards, in our office lobby, and we will schedule, put on everyone’s Outlook calendar, a board meeting, and that prompts everyone to go grab a longboard and go out to our parking lot, And we’ll just ride the long boards around our parking lot. There’s a little bit of a slope. And so it will start at the high point and we’ll just ride the long boards and go back and forth for half an hour or or whatever it takes.

Steve Grimes [00:20:33]:
But yeah. So that’s one example of of what we do that’s very different.

John Garrett [00:20:37]:
No. Absolutely. And and it’s it’s great because it just gets people out of the office and having fun, and no one’s an expert long border. So, like, it’s something we all suck at. You know? Like and so so it’s great because then it’s it’s fun to you know, you have partners, you have staff, you have I mean and actually, probably staff are even better at it probably. So then it allows them to be a little bit of a of an alpha in this situation. But it’s it’s just everybody just letting loose and being human, which I think is great, man. I think that’s so cool.

John Garrett [00:21:05]:
And I guess how much does Whipple would encourage people having hands and and sharing them? Like having being that that human side of you outside of work?

Steve Grimes [00:21:14]:
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Very much so. You know, we we don’t wanna be robots and just people who put numbers in boxes. We really encourage, you know, people to be human, and we actually had a guy who was really into, like, jeeping. And so he put on his email signature line, he put tax manager and jeep dad.

John Garrett [00:21:35]:
Nice. There we go. That’s incredible. Yeah.

Steve Grimes [00:21:38]:
Yeah. That’s that’s the kind of stuff we do.

John Garrett [00:21:40]:
Yeah. That’s all. I mean, it’s literally that simple. It’s it’s literally just in an email signature. And then, you know, some people might not see it. Great. And then people do see it. Also great.

John Garrett [00:21:50]:
You know? Because then it’s like, wait. Jeep dead? What? What’s that all about? And then it’s like who then there you go. Then now there’s a a real conversation happening on a human level as opposed to with a automatron robot person that puts numbers into boxes because there’s a gazillion of those all over the place.

Steve Grimes [00:22:07]:
Oh, yeah. We have enough of those.

John Garrett [00:22:08]:
Right? Exactly, man. I love it, man. It’s it’s so awesome. It’s so cool. So do you have any words of encouragement to anybody listening who might have an and that they feel like well, no one cares because it has nothing to do with my job?

Steve Grimes [00:22:20]:
You know, I would say you would be surprised. People love to learn about what you do outside of work. People want to to find that connection, right, and relate to each other in a way that has nothing to do with what they do for 8, 10, 12 hours a day in an office. So, you know, open up and be vulnerable and you’ll be surprised at at the kind of relationships and connections you can make with other people, Orit.

John Garrett [00:22:48]:
Yeah. I love it, man. That’s so great. This This has been so much fun, but I feel like before I wrap this up, it’s only fair that I turn the tables, make this the first episode of the Steve Grimes podcast. Thanks for having me on. And, yeah, so I’m all yours. I’m in the hot seat, and I’m also very nervous. So here we go.

Steve Grimes [00:23:07]:
Alright, John Garrett. What is your favorite eighties or nineties sitcom?

John Garrett [00:23:12]:
Oh, wow. Alright. I’m just I think I’m gonna have to go Seinfeld. I mean, I don’t think South Park counts. But, I mean, South Park would probably be it, but it’s not really a sitcom. So I’d probably go Seinfeld. I mean, it was just so brilliant how you had to watch the whole episode. And and then the the opening scene was always part of the closing, and it it just wrapped it up with a bow.

John Garrett [00:23:33]:
And it was just it was just brilliant how it was done.

Steve Grimes [00:23:36]:
Yeah. It was a groundbreaking show for sure.

John Garrett [00:23:39]:
Yeah. For sure. Absolutely.

Steve Grimes [00:23:40]:
Alright. So Kilimanjaro was one of my bucket list items. What is your next bucket list item?

John Garrett [00:23:48]:
That’s a really good question. Holy cow. You know, I feel like there’s another book in me that I might need to write. So I don’t know if that’s, like, the next bucket list thing, but that’s definitely a big that’s a Kilimanjaro kind of, like, holy crap. Like it wakes you up in the middle of the night a little bit. But now that I know all I have to do is eat rice and go to bed early. Now I know the secret.

Steve Grimes [00:24:11]:
Yeah. Exactly.

John Garrett [00:24:12]:
So probably that. That’s probably the next, like, big big thing that’s a little bit that and also I’m looking at expanding, I guess, how I can help organizations and maybe more with some leadership kind of executive coaching sort of level of how do I help people on an individual level be able to implement what’s your end on an organizational level. So I I I feel like to me it’s so so simple, but it’s not easy is what I’m finding. So how do I help people help themselves, basically? So so probably both of those things are pretty big things that make me lose my breath every once in a while. So

Steve Grimes [00:24:49]:
yeah. Yeah. Just like being at the top of mountain

John Garrett [00:24:51]:
takes your breath. Definitely. Yeah.

Steve Grimes [00:24:52]:
Yeah. Alright. The last one here. Best joke or how how about most memorable joke you ever told on

John Garrett [00:25:00]:
stage? Oh. Oh, man. Okay. So it was a comedy club in Indianapolis, and they did Wednesday through Sunday. I think it was a long week. Normally, it’s like Thursday, Friday, Saturday, but they did a Wednesday night. And the Wednesday night show was at, like, I forget, it was like 6:30 or 7. It was, like, early.

John Garrett [00:25:20]:
The sun was still kind of up. And, I mean, of course, the showroom’s dark, but, you know, outside. And so, on that win there’s like, I don’t know, 20 people maybe, you know, on the weekends it’s, you know, 2, 300 or more, you know, on a Wednesday at 7, you know, there’s like 20 people. And I told this kind of new joke, I don’t even remember it totally, but I remember a guy in the front who said yells out, nice try. And when there’s only 20 people in the audience, everybody heard it. So now I have to talk to you because I can’t just act like that didn’t happen. And so I said to him, I said, oh, well, you know, what are you here celebrating on a Wednesday? I mean, you know, there’s only 20 people, like, what’s up? And he said, I’m not celebrating anything because I have cancer. And I don’t even know why or what happened.

John Garrett [00:26:07]:
But without even skipping a beat, I said, well, is cancer what made you an a hole? Or or have you been like that all your life? And, like, the other 2 comedians in the show, like, you heard him in the back of the room, like, fall on the floor because they were like, oh my god. That was amazing. He started laughing. And he’s like, that was good. Touche. And then we were BFFs from then on out. But like, that was, like, right out of the gate. And I was like, this is gonna be a weird 30 minutes if if you don’t go with it.

John Garrett [00:26:38]:
And it’s one of those where, like, yeah, where, like, you say something and you’re like, oh, that was my voice. I didn’t even feel my mouth move, but that was definitely my voice coming into my ear. And so, yeah, he ended up being, you know, great and and it really broke him open. He was obviously in a not good space. And the comedy helped him laugh again for the first time in a long time. So that’s probably one of the more memorable moments from on stage where I probably could have gotten murdered. Like, I don’t know. Like, it’s whatever.

Steve Grimes [00:27:04]:
It was a gutsy move on your part. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:27:06]:
It was. And I’m not even sure if I had any control over it, to be honest. I’m not even sure if I had a choice. It just happened. And then there we are. So yeah, man. But thank you so much for being a part of what’s your end and for just being a living example of this. So I appreciate it so much, Steve.

Steve Grimes [00:27:20]:
Well, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

John Garrett [00:01:31]:
Yeah. And everybody listening, if you wanna see some pictures of Steve on mountains or connect with him on social media, be sure to go to whatsyourand.com. Everything’s there. And while you’re on the page, please click that big button and do the anonymous research survey about corporate culture. And don’t forget to check out the book. So thanks again for subscribing on Apple Podcasts or whatever app you use and for sharing this with your friends. They get the message that we’re all trying to spread, that who you are is so much more than what you do.