David brings the harmony to coworker relationships
David Beasley loves music. So much so that he spent several years composing for and performing in the United States Air Force Heartland of America Band near Omaha, NE. And even though he no longer lives near there, he continues to compose music for the Omaha Symphony.
In this episode, we talk about how David’s been able to create connections with coworkers through their hobbies or passions. This helps out when times are tough or he needs to correct someone’s work because their relationships are based on more than just work so the criticism isn’t taken personally. David also points out that we’re all working in order to do something else, whether that’s supporting our family or to be able to do our passions more. In the end, he says, “What’s the harm in sharing? There is actually no risk and a lot of reward.”
David Beasley is a Tax Manager at Beasley, Mitchell & Co., LLP in Las Cruces, NM. Prior to that, he worked at McGrath North Mullin & Kratz law firm in Omaha, NE.
He graduated from Oklahoma City University with a degree in Music Business and later received his J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law.
Please take 2 minutes
to do John’s anonymous survey
about Corporate Culture!
Other pictures of David
(click to enlarge)
David’s links
Transcript
- Read Full TranscriptOpen or Close
John: Welcome to Episode 66 of the Green Apple Podcast where each Wednesday I interview a professional known for a hobby or a passion, making them standout like a green apple in a red apple world. And by doing so, these professionals not only make work more interesting and fun but their careers have benefited from having stronger coworker relationships, stronger client connections and even a unique skill set that others don’t have. There are so many stories to be told so I’d just like to let you know that I’m always interested in finding new guests for the show, so please let me know if you or someone you know has a life outside of work and sharing this has benefited their career even if it’s in only in a small way.
Just send me a message at greenapplepodcast.com and while you’re there, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher so you don’t miss any of the new super short Green Apple Slices episodes that come every Monday with me and Rachel Fisch. We take about five to seven minutes to talk through a recent business article that we read and how it relates to the Green Apple message. They’re a lot of fun and people seem to really, really be liking them.
Okay, enough about that. Now, it’s time to introduce this week’s guest, David Beasley, who I met a few weeks ago when I was speaking at the Beasley, Mitchell Annual Tax Kickoff Meeting. I’m so excited you’re able to be with me today, David, but rather than steal your thunder, maybe I’ll just let you tell everyone a little bit about where you’re at now and how you got there.
David: Well, I am a tax manager at Beasley, Mitchell, & Co. which is an accounting firm in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Here, I am not a CPA, I’m actually a tax attorney, so don’t hold that against me.
John: Right. I’ll talk slower. It’s all good, it’s all good.
David: Yeah, talk slower, use small words and everything.
John: Right, right.
David: So yeah, I joined the firm back in 2014. My job before that, I was with a law firm in Omaha practicing Tax Law and Estate Planning and to a small extent, I still do some of that as well mainly for just our clients and that kind of thing but do a lot of tax returns, do a lot of tax planning, things like that. Joined McGrath North right out of law school and before I was in law school, I was actually in the Air Force for four years.
John: Oh, nice.
David: I was the composer and a ranger. So basically I wrote music for the Heartland of America Band which is stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Spent four years in there and people always asked, “So you were a musician in the Air Force?” I said, “Yes, that was my job.” While some people are loading planes or shooting guns, we’re writing music and saving the world one note at a time.
John: Right. You’re the John Philip Sousa of our era.
David: Exactly. Yeah, him or Glen Miller, you know?
John: Right, okay. That’s awesome, man. That’s so cool. Is that where the Air Force banned the station then, in Nebraska?
David: Yeah, the way the Air Force has it they used to have more but right now, I think they have about five to seven regional bands and then they have the main Air Force band that’s at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington D.C.
John: Right, that’s what I think.
David: Yeah. There is one in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy; there is one in San Antonio which that’s where basic training is. I was glad I was never stationed back there after basic training.
John: Right. Flashbacks, right?
David: Yeah, flashbacks. I don’t want to go back there but anytime I think that’s something’s getting kind of tough and all that, I just think back. Well, at least I’m not in basic training having to get up at 4:00 AM and running around and doing all that stuff again. It could be worse.
John: Right, right, doing pushups in the office, that’s for sure. Well, that’s so cool. How did you get into doing that for the Air Force? Did you do poorly on the tests and they were like “We could make you an MP but you know what, I think the band is probably better.”
David: I think the band, let’s put a tuba in front of you and see how you do.
John: Exactly, right.
David: So, yeah. When I first went off to college, the college I picked, I went because I had a music and academic scholarship and was actually going to play baseball as well in college. But then I got there and baseball didn’t necessarily work out because it was at the same time that all of our music rehearsals were at.
John: Probably not a lot of overlap there.
David: Yeah, like you said the tuba, when you take that onto the baseball field, that kind of gets in the way of the fast ball.
John: That’s why you’re really good in the outfield, right?
David: Yeah, lot easier to catch it better than in the mitt. Yeah, so I did that and my degree actually in undergrad was, the school I went to had a music business degree, so it’s very similar to like a music education degree but instead of taking all the education classes, you take like business administration and accounting classes and marketing classes. When I was there, I took some extra accounting classes, fun ones like intermediate accounting and those types of things.
John: Right.
David: You know I’m always looking for the next fun thing to do.
John: Those things that boost your GPA, those kinds of classes.
David: Yeah. I think that that’s probably one of my lowest ones which is great.
John: Sure, right.
David: Yeah. But did that and I had some various internships in the summer, one was actually working. I played in the Disney band, the Disney College Band at Disneyland for a summer and got to do that. And then spent the next summer working at Sonic, their corporate headquarters and what they call planning and analysis, but basically, what I did was track all the new breakfast items that they were selling across the country.
John: Interesting.
David: Yeah. So I had to call people, try to track that and do a weekly report because that time breakfast had just come out for them and they were trying to see if they wanted to keep it and all that.
John: Right.
David: So I don’t know if they have all the Sonic on the East Coast or not. I know we have it down here.
John: Oh, yeah, in the Midwest as well.
David: Yeah, and so did that for a little bit. And then when I was finishing up with my undergrad, there was an audition that came open for this position in the Air Force. And so I auditioned, it was kind of a month long process and won that job and then they say go see your recruiter. And one summer a recruiter and next time I’m in there at basic training, people getting off the bus, people screaming at you and I’m thinking “Oh my, gosh, what did I do?”
John: Right, right. That’s amazing man, that’s crazy. What were some of the cooler things you got to do from being a part of the Air Force band?
David: Yeah, part of that was we would actually travel around the Midwest a lot. Well, I do some composing but since I was also a tuba player and I also play bass, electric bass and upright bass, I would fill in whenever we had any issues or things like that. It was great just to travel around and to meet people in different towns and we would kind of talk up the Air Force and meet people. In 2008, I actually deployed with a rock band. So there are about ten of us that spent about three months in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan. We kind of call it the stand tour.
John: Right, right. That’s very cool, man.
David: And then in Djibouti Africa which I never thought I would end up in Djibouti Africa.
John: Right, right. I’ve had some friends that have done some comedy towards like that and yeah, they say that Djibouti Africa is like on the sun. It’s so hot there that it’s insane.
David: Yes. It is ridiculous.
John: But that’s really cool, man, because you get to bring a little bit of home to those guys and girls that are over there, get to give them a little bit of relief from all that. That’s really great, man, very cool. That’s awesome. So do you still do music composing and break out the tuba once in a while to serenade your ladies?
David: Yeah. I don’t necessarily serenade or at least I can with the tuba.
John: Bum, bum, bum, bum.
David: Yeah. More of play Jaws and that’s about it.
John: Yes, yes. I’m a trombone player so I know what you’re talking about.
David: But yeah, as far as playing, I play every two or three weekends a month with my church, I do a basic guitar and play with them. I still actually do some composing. There is a really good community band that we have here in town that I have written a couple of band pieces for. And then I still do somewhere between about three-to-five pieces for the Omaha Symphony in Nebraska.
John: Oh, wow.
David: Writing various things for them. The one thing that I do for them is they like to get fifth graders to get a recorder in their hands so that they can start learning some music and I usually write some pieces so that the orchestra can play along with the recorders. And they do a new thing where they have them compose a short melody and then just a few bars kind of on a short thing. And then I take that and I had the full orchestra around it and try to make it sound grandiose and make the kids really excited and all that stuff, so that they just get excited about that and maybe inspire some of them to pick up an instrument or at least join a band or an orchestra or something like that.
John: Right, right. No. I mean I was in the band all the way through college even and yeah, it was great. I mean I was in the marching band for Notre Dame Football so I don’t know if that counts for the symphony people. But let’s be honest like it’s 75% marching and about 25% musical ability.
David: And trying to make sure your mouthpiece doesn’t stick to your mouth in the cold weather.
John: Pretty much. I remember my very last home game, my slide froze, it was so cold. It was the end of the week, the weekend before Thanksgiving and my slide actually froze and I was like wow, I don’t even know what to do right now. This is great.
David: Smile and wave, boy, smile and wave.
John: Exactly, exactly, just in case NBC is looking at me like “Hey!” But I mean music was great, I played the piano growing up a little bit as well and yeah, so yeah, it’s a huge part of my education and everything. So I think it’s really cool that you’re promoting that with the kids there in Nebraska. That’s awesome, man, that’s really neat. Would you say that some of these skills from your music world transfer over to your tax attorney office life?
David: What’s kind of nice is I’ve played sports and I played baseball, when I was a lot younger I played football. So you can kind of relate to clients and other people talking sports but like you said, you were in band, band has a lot of people in it. And so most of the time, you can find somebody that did something whether they were a flute player, a clarinet player or something like that in their middle school or high school or something and it gives you something to relate to, it gives you some of that common ground that you can do that exactly like you and just marching band, you played in there. My wife was in the Nebraska Marching Band for four years.
John: Oh, nice. Yeah.
David: I mean there are just so many things that it kind of helps you give that experience. And I know usually when I’m talking to either clients or other people in the office, I mean you just look for that, some type of common ground. I have been fortunate enough that I can have either a military type thing to share with them or a music type thing or a sports type thing so it makes it easy to try to get that first connection with them and then take that somewhere else. That has been very useful to do in my practice.
John: Yeah, yeah, absolutely, man. I think that’s really great. So how does that kind of come up then? How do you sort of do that when you’re talking with clients or coworkers just to feel them out? How does that usually happen?
David: I don’t know if I kind of plug it or not but I know around my office, I have my Air Force honorable discharge papers, I have some different pictures of different things and usually people look around and see certain things, or I’ll be wearing a shirt that has a little logo on it or something like that, or just kind of hear something in what they’re talking about. The other thing that I like to do a lot is actually sports whether I’m coaching my sons’ teams or playing the gentlemen’s game of slow pitched softball.
John: Right, right.
David: We have a guy in our office that he takes it real seriously and he let me play on his team for a little bit this last year, since I had time. But for me and him, that was an instant way of being able to connect with him and really have seen him kind of grow because he is still playing with some of his high school buddies and he’s actually a really great guy in our office, he’s doing a really good work and he’s great with clients. And it’s just one of those that I’d like to see him, see that you can be both, the guy playing softball with them and talking about those guys and then still being an accountant during the week, during the day.
John: Right, yeah, absolutely. And I called them out during your event, didn’t I?
David: Yeah.
John: Yeah, yeah. Because I was joking with them saying that he keeps stats and all that and I heard you laugh like super-duper hard, so I could tell that I hit a pulse on that like he totally does.
David: He and his brother go hardcore at that and they’re good, they’re both very good players. But it was great to see him talking with some of his softball buddies. These are hardcore guys, tattooed up thing, coming and just smoking and drinking and all that stuff. But then as you talk to them and now some of them are clients. He’s brought them in to do that and he’s helping them out because eventually, those guys have to get jobs somewhere.
John: Right, right, and then they have to pay taxes.
David: And they’re different, they’re mechanics, they are different things and they need help there. So I think that’s great and I think that being able to relate with him, he likes to come and bounce things off me. He has a supervisor and I’m not in his chain necessarily, military term right there, his chain of command, but he comes and bounces off things like that. So I think that becomes a good thing in the office that you have your supervisors but then you also start having your people that you trust and connect with and know that you can ask what may be a stupid question but you know you kind of have that thing where it makes it a little easier for them to get some buy in to the firm and feel good about themselves.
John: Right, yeah, absolutely. Because now that you too have hung out outside of work, you’ve had that networking in and then you’re outside of the office so there is not that pressure to conform or like I say, professionalism is creeping in. You can just be you, you can just be him, it’s great and you’re still just normal people and then that definitely translates to the office. So it’s cool to see that happening.
David: Yeah, we usually don’t get too many fist bumps and everything here at the office. I try to institute that a little bit more.
John: Yeah. Who do I need to talk to?
David: Yeah.
John: Yeah, that would be great. Especially with that video that came out with that teacher. I don’t know if you saw it but he sees LeBron James doing all the handshakes with each individual player, they all have their own little handshakes. So he’s got a fifth grade class that he does individual handshakes with each student on the way in to the classroom. And I was like, how cool would it be if an accounting partner knew handshakes for all the people that were in his department or whatever department. That would be so cool.
David: Yeah, I can completely see that. I joked with my dad when I first got here. I have talked about I write music and do different things and as you could tell when we had our production, I like to put music to things whether it’s walk-up music or beam music and that kind of stuff. And I was trying to get my dad to make it so we had entrance music for each of his clients whenever they came in to talk about their taxes. But he didn’t want to go for that yet.
John: Some Darth Vaders. That’s like a baseball thing, man, I love it. I think that’s great. The walk-up, yeah, step to the plate.
David: Yes, like we can have Green Acres for some of our farmers and things like that.
John: That’s hilarious, that’s so funny. Until the power goes out and then you got to break out your tuba and just play it.
David: Yes. The power goes out then you’re just in the dark going “Hey, how is it going?”
John: Right, until they bring the flashlights like they did at the hotel. So are there some things that your firm does there or maybe you’ve seen at your law firm in Nebraska that you’re at where that encourages that, for people to share or for that networking to happen outside of the office?
David: It was kind of interesting, the firm of that in Omaha did some of that, I mean we have some like Habitat for Humanity kind of build things and stuff like that. And actually, before I got there, they said about three or four years before that, they had a company basketball team which I was disappointed that I couldn’t show my terrible basketball skills off on that. But here, I think they do their really good job trying to promote that. We actually have a running club which I’m not a big fan of the running club because I’m not a big fan of running because it requires running.
John: Right, right. And it’s usually early in the morning, right?
David: Yeah. So this jogging thing stuff, apparently you just run.
John: Yeah, that’s weird. It’s so weird, I agree.
David: But they do that, and so they have a couple of things throughout the year. We actually are firm sponsors, a couple of the 5Ks for that, also every year, they do a mud volleyball type of thing for that. So they put together a team for that. Kind of put these different things type together kind of when anything comes off just to have that ability to meet and see other people. Every year, we have a company picnic after tax season and use it or some type of sporting or something, some type of competition type thing. I think it’s still just to get that fist bump. You joke about the handshake but I mean that’s something where you are connecting with people.
John: Totally.
David: That’s why players are doing it, that’s why things are doing that. I mean even in the music, you would have your group that you play with, like the people I deployed with, I mean I was with them for three months straight so you really got to know everybody.
Sometimes not always for the best but you got to know. You got to know what kind of made them tick and what would be good. So you kind of just know them more than just “Well, this is the person who does this person’s tax return” and “This is the person who I go to to get tax ID numbers” and things like that. What else about them motivates them? And I think that translates to job performance, what is it that drives this person to do well in their job? I think I’ve heard you before on your podcast and then you’re talking and everything and we have kind of a generation of people, we actually have some of those here that they I don’t if they recognize it but the job is them and that’s what they see.
Especially in what I would say my generation and some of the younger ones is that’s not what they’re looking for. I mean the job is just a means to an end, it’s not the end. So if they’re not working here, they’ll go work somewhere else because the point is not to work to work. I mean they try to do their best at work but they’re doing this so that they can afford the bat to go play softball or they can afford to go take a trip or something. It’s kind of an interesting thing because before, if you look into society, you work because that’s what you had to do to survive.
John: Well yeah, way back in the day, sure, yeah.
David: Yeah, but now that’s a kind of less and less. I mean you kind of do what you can, do what you want to do that usually is driving something else whether it’s “I’m doing this to support my family” or “I’m doing this so I can go support my Star Wars figurine habit” or something like that.
John: Right, yeah. Now we’re talking, hello. But that’s so true and it’s so scary for the people that work is them or work is their whole identity because work goes away at some point.
David: Yeah, my plan is hopefully it does go away.
John: Yeah. And then those people, then they have nothing. Then they forget who they are, they don’t know what to do with their time, they have no hobbies or passions. I mean who are you? That’s what’s really scary to me anyway and I’m not sure if people have thought ahead on that. It’s more of “Well, I’m just going to be the best tax accountant around.” It’s like well, okay. But then what happens when you stop doing that? Then you got nothing. Along the way, you might not be the happiest person. That’s a cool thing that you’re able to recognize that and that you get out there and you guys are creating those shared experiences that kind of shake it up a little bit and loosen things up so then people are more willing to share their personal experiences.
David: I think it also makes it much easier when something doesn’t go right at the office if you have that relationship. If you got to come in there and then it makes it easier if you need to correct somebody if you had that experience outside and it’s not just this overbearing boss. They’ve seen you as a person, you’ve seen them as a person and it’s okay, let’s get this fixed, we’re not trying to hurt your feelings or anything there, but I think it just helps with that.
John: Yeah, definitely. That’s huge because, instead of it being you being critical of them, they see it as you’re just talking about their work, not them as a person because you like them as a person. We’ve hung out outside of work, we have this other bonds that connect us, these strings that connect us. So when one is shaky, we got these others that are fine so we’re still cool. That’s an excellent point, this is great, man. I mean this is awesome. Were you always open about sharing, like when you started at the law firm and what have you?
David: Yeah. Actually, I have never shied away from kind of popping in somehow into conversation what I do. Like I remember one time at the law firm, I said “Well, I’m going to step out of the office from 11:00 to 12:00, I’m just going to run down the street” because we’re in downtown Omaha. What’s going on? I said “Well, I have a piece being played by the Omaha Symphony” so I can do that and somebody is like “Oh, well let me go with you.”
John: Right, yeah.
David: So we went down and heard it play and things like that. It’s just different things of putting that in there. I’ve always kind of been just an odd ball, I guess, because of that, I’ve never had any problem in sharing that.
And I was kind of thinking about the different things, just kind of preparing for speaking with you, and it’s kind of interesting with being in the law or the accounting context that I look at something as like music as what’s you’re calling them, like the green apple thing to kind of separate you out from someone else. When I was in the Air Force, I’m sitting there in the squadron of 60, 65 people and everyone is a musician, everyone’s a great musician. What made me stood out was the fact that I could organize and get my projects done.
John: Yeah, you had both sides of the brain working.
David: And do that other part which they couldn’t do. So in that sense, you were a green apply by being more of the analytical accounting type.
John: Sure, yeah.
David: So maybe in that sense, I was the red apply in a bucket of green apples for you.
John: That’s possible. Look at you, man. Look at you. You’re ruining the whole show. I’m kidding. Well, this is the last episode of the podcast everybody. Good night. No, I’m just kidding.
David: Sorry about that.
John: No, no, not at all. But I think that’s so great that you were so open to share. So do you have any words of encouragement to others that might be on the fence or kind of not sure if they should share that with people at work?
David: The only thing I would say is that what’s the harm in sharing it? So somebody finds out that you played Diddly Doo on the weekend or something, or that you’re part of the group that is doing the Medieval or Civil War reenactments on the weekend. What’s the harm if you share them and getting a reaction? I don’t see a downside. If they are going to fire you, they’re not going to fire you for that.
John: Right, right, yeah. And if anything, yeah, people are going to love it. Like you said, “The Symphony is playing a piece I wrote” and people are like “Dude, let’s go, that’s awesome!” In 7th grade, you would have got beaten up and put into a locker. We’re not in 7th grade anymore everybody, people think this stuff is cool.
David: Yeah. What I kind of see now is that being just a little different is it’s okay. You don’t have to fit the mold there, that’s what makes you, you, that’s what people are going to remember, that’s what your co-workers and your clients are going to remember on all that. So that’s kind of what I would say is if you’re looking at this even from your analytical brain of risk versus reward, there is no risk with a lot of rewards.
John: Yeah, that’s great, that’s awesome. That’s really great and what a great way to end. That’s perfect. “No risk and a lot of rewards.” That’s great, man.
Well David, you know, my drill is I can’t come to hang out with my trombone and your tuba and we break out some really awesome Jaws-ness or something. But until we meet up in play, I have my 17 rapid fire questions to whether or not we should do this. So let me fire this thing up and here we go.
All right. First one, favorite place you have been on vacation.
David: Always have to be Disneyland. I love that place.
John: Yeah, really nice. That’s cool, man. Do you have a favorite color?
David: Favorite color, blue.
John: Blue. And a least favorite color.
David: That orange and black that the Giants have.
John: Oh. That has nothing to do with the San Francisco Giants, whatsoever. I’m kidding. Do you have a movie that makes you cry?
David: Well the one I watched recently was that Storks movie. My son loves it and it kind of tugs at the heartstrings a little bit.
John: Yeah. Do you have a favorite food?
David: My favorite food has to be Bologna.
John: Bologna, really? Wow.
David: Yes. I love beef Bologna
John: That’s impressive, you don’t get that often. How about pens or pencils?
David: Pencils. I make too many mistakes.
John: That’s awesome. How about a Sudoku or a crossword puzzle?
David: Sudoku. Whenever I do crossword puzzles, my mother-in-law makes fun of me because she’s really good at those and I’m not.
John: Right, exactly. Like give me the child’s version of the Highlights magazine.
David: Yes. I mean you could do this word search and then we’ll be better.
John: There we go, perfect. How about more Star Wars or Star Trek?
David: Star Wars all the way. At Disneyland, they have that droid factory where you can build your own R2D2 type of model. My son and I each built one and mine is called K1W2.
John: That’s hilarious, that’s so funny. When it comes to computers, more PC or Mac?
David: PC for work, Mac for music and everything else.
John: When it comes to a mouse, more of a right click or a left click?
David: I actually like the right click, it’s more functional. The other one, you’re just pushing one button, the other one you have all these choices.
John: Right. It opens up this world of possibilities.
David: Yes, the more you know.
John: The more you know, nice. That’s great. Do you have a favorite tax form?
David: Ooh, that’s a great question. Oh man, that’s an awesome question. Probably the 2848.
John: Oh, what’s that one?
David: The Power of Attorney.
John: Power of Attorney. Oh yeah, because that gets both your worlds. That’s the accounting and the law. That’s the David Beasley form, that’s what it’s called.
David: Yes, right there.
John: That’s really what it’s called.
David: Yes.
John: How about a favorite sports team?
David: Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers.
John: Wow, okay. All right. Do you have a favorite number?
David: I was digging 66 for a while but then … started playing out very well. So usually what I go to is 35.
John: 35, and why is that?
David: My numbers that I’d like before when I was in high school, 21 and 19 were taken a lot of times, and so I’d go to 35 which is my brother’s number when he played for UNLV. And then it was also the floor that I was on in the Highlines in Omaha. I like to match up with my brother because then I could always remember which floor I had to go to in the morning.
John: Right, that’s perfect, that’s so great. That’s very good. That’s awesome. That’s very cool. More suit and tie or a jeans and a T-shirt?
David: I actually like slacks but I hate button-up shirts. So I’m kind of a khakis and a polo kind of guy.
John: Okay, so kind of down the middle. All right, I’ll let you have it. We got three more. Do you have a favorite comedian?
David: Oh, Jim Gaffigan.
John: Oh, yeah, he’s great. Very good. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl?
David: I’m probably an early bird. I like to get stuff done before everybody else is awake because then I feel better about myself if I’m slacking off during the rest of the day.
John: Right, that’s an excellent answer. And the last one, the favorite thing you own or the favorite thing you have.
David: Favorite thing I have and I appreciate you teeing me up a little bit for this because I’m actually the two-time defending champion of the Deming Duck Race Tortilla Toss.
John: Yes!
David: I’ve actually won the Tortilla Tossing Championship two years in a row. Last year, I threw a tortilla 199.8 feet in the air.
John: Holy cow! How big are these tortillas?
David: They’re like your standard flour tortilla but they are baked crispy. You can’t grip them on too tight, otherwise they break in your hand, and you get two tosses. When they scatter, it looks like tortilla chips everywhere. So you just fling it. And they actually have a guy, he’s a surveyor and he measures everybody’s throw with GPS, so it gets down to a tenth of a foot.
John: 199 feet. That is so cool, man. I’ve seen a picture of you throwing. So I will try and get that up on greenapplepodcast.com so everyone could check that out. That’s cool, man, that’s so cool. And so did you get a trophy or like just lifetime supply of tortillas?
David: I wish it was the lifetime supply of tortillas. It’s actually a cash prize. You pay a $5 or $10 entry fee and then you win money. Actually, I was really happy about this because last year on my tax return, the other income line, I put down there Tortilla Tossing Champ. I reported my winnings. Here in the State of New Mexico, they will impose what they call gross receipts or sales tax on anything for services that you get.
John: That’s awesome.
David: A lot of times they do it, if they see that other income, they say “Well, you’re in the business so then you got to pay tax.” And so I put it in on there because I want a letter from the State of New Mexico wanting me to pay tax so that they will acknowledge that I’m in the business of being a Tortilla Tossing Champion.
John: That’s so cool, man. That’s awesome. That’s so great. That’s so cool. Thank you so much, David, for being with me today on the Green Apple Podcast.
David: Well, thanks for having me, I really appreciate it.
John: Man, that was really great. I liked how David said that there is actually no risk and a lot of reward for opening up a little bit at work. If you’d like to see some pictures of David especially throwing in the Tortilla competition, go to greenapplepodcast.com. While you’re there, please click that big green button and do my anonymous research survey.
Thank you so much for sharing this with your friends, so they get the message that we are trying to spread which is to go out and a green apple.