32-The Relationship Advantage: Why Rapport Makes You More Resilient

Season #3 August 12, 2026

Episode Overview

What if one of the most overlooked ways to become more resilient isn't simply developing a tougher mindset—but developing better relationships?

In this episode of Become the Leader, Jody Holland sits down with Meghan Slaughter and Maleah Berens to explore the connection between rapport, relationships, rejection, feedback, and resilience.

The conversation begins with something deceptively simple: how we connect with people. Remembering someone's name, noticing what matters to them, asking good questions, listening instead of pitching, and paying attention to the people around us can dramatically change the quality of our relationships.

But rapport isn't simply a networking skill.

When relationships are built on trust, people become better equipped to navigate rejection, receive feedback, adapt to difficult circumstances, and recover when things don't go according to plan. The group explores the idea that rejection doesn't necessarily mean failure—it can simply be redirection toward a better fit.

The conversation ultimately challenges leaders to treat every interaction as an investment. You never know what someone else is carrying, where their journey will take them, or when today's relationship will matter tomorrow.

Key Learning Points

Rapport begins with attention. Remember names, listen for small details, notice what people value, and demonstrate that you genuinely see the person in front of you.
Don't network by pitching yourself. Ask questions, become curious, and focus on understanding the other person. People often remember how a conversation made them feel more than what you told them about yourself.
Remembering a few personal details differentiates you. Jody discusses Harvey Mackay's approach of learning details about customers and suggests that remembering even four meaningful things can dramatically improve connection.
Rejection can be reframed as redirection. Someone who isn't the right customer today isn't necessarily rejecting you personally—and may eventually become a referral source or future connection.
Curiosity creates resilience. Instead of emotionally reacting when something doesn't work, become curious about what happened, what you can learn, and what you might change next time.
Solve before you sell. Removing the pressure to close a deal allows you to concentrate on understanding problems, providing value, and helping people—even when you're not the solution.
Rapport changes how feedback is received. When employees trust their leaders, coaching feels less like criticism and more like support. Asking permission before offering feedback can further protect that relationship.
Relationships are never finished. Years of rapport can be damaged by one careless interaction, which means leaders must continually protect and invest in relationships.
How you treat people today matters tomorrow. Respect shouldn't depend on someone's title, status, influence, or what they can currently do for you.
Resilience is built by carrying the weight. Using Sisyphus as a metaphor, Jody reframes life's "boulders" not simply as burdens but as the resistance that can make us stronger.

Quotable Moments

“Rejection is just redirection.” — Meghan Slaughter

“Sometimes you will be changed by your circumstances, but you never have to be reduced to your circumstances.” — Meghan Slaughter

“You're never done building the relationship. You're always building the relationship.” — Jody Holland

“Treat everybody as if they are rolling a big boulder up a hill and they need your kindness today.” — Jody Holland

“We don't always get to choose who we work with, but we get to choose the relationship that we have with them.” — Meghan Slaughter

“Walk into every room believing that you have something to teach and something to learn from every person that's in the room with you.” — Maleah Berens

The Big Idea

Rapport isn't just about getting people to like you. It's about creating relational strength that allows people to navigate difficult moments together.

When trust already exists, feedback doesn't automatically feel like an attack. Rejection doesn't have to feel personal. Differences don't automatically become conflict. And difficult circumstances don't have to destroy the relationship.

That makes rapport more than a communication skill.

Rapport becomes a resilience strategy.

Listener Challenge

In your next conversation, resist the urge to impress someone.

Instead, notice them.

Remember their name. Ask a question. Listen for something that matters to them. Look for an opportunity to help without expecting anything in return.

And when someone disappoints you, rejects an idea, or gives you difficult feedback, replace the immediate emotional story with curiosity:

“What can I learn from this?”

Because strong leaders don't simply build stronger people.

They build stronger relationships—and those relationships help people become more resilient.

Episode Transcript

Jody Holland (00:08.674)
Hey guys, Jodie Holland here with Megan Slaughter and Malia. Is it Burns is the proper pronunciation? Got it. She is married now. So first a big round of applause and a congratulations. And it was an absolutely amazing ceremony. And the after party that I was at was fantastic. I will tell you that if there is any video proof of Mike Grigsby and Jodie Holland dancing, that should be destroyed immediately because.

Meghan Slaughter (00:34.474)
Yeah.

Jody Holland (00:37.898)
It would probably not get us any accolades from anyone.

Maleah Berens (00:40.984)
I don't think you can call that dancing.

Meghan Slaughter (00:43.493)
Yeah.

Jody Holland (00:44.768)
I believe that was described to us that night that that was not what you would call dancing. But it was fun and we really enjoyed it. So it was it was a fantastic evening. But we're gonna be talking about building rapport, building relationships, and being resilient. And I think those two things definitely go together because relationships can be very stressful. And the more you introduce new relationships into your life, the more adaptive you have to become. It's a

I'm gonna tell a little story and then we're gonna jump into this. I was at Starbucks today working, had a meeting with one of my clients, and there's a guy pacing back and forth in the Starbucks talking loudly on his phone. Then one of the the girls that works at Starbucks is cackling in the background, like loud enough to shake the windows, laughing.

And then there's a another group of girls, look like college girls from West Texas AM, that came in and they're really noisy as well. And in my mind, I'm thinking, you know, people go to coffee shops to talk to each other, but the guy pacing completely oblivious about other humans being in his presence, that was the one that really got me. So part of what I would say as we get this started is external awareness is a thing that really needs some attention in our world. Not being aware.

Of the people around you or what's going on around you. Like somebody saying, Hey, I'm on the phone, can I get some privacy? You just want to respond, no, you're in public. If you want privacy, go to a private area to be on the phone. But you get some publiccy when you're in this area right here. So I want to start with a question. When you think about building rapport with the people around you, like just meeting brand new people for the first time, Malia, you're gonna go first. Tell us.

Meghan Slaughter (02:17.984)
Ha ha.

Jody Holland (02:38.178)
What are some of the secrets or the things that people ought to be paying attention to as they're trying to create this initial connection?

Maleah Berens (02:46.529)
Totally. So one of the things that I do in my work is I am all about building the culture and the community and the ecosystem of Kansas City, and especially in like kind of the startup and entrepreneurial world where people are a little bit more hesitant to maybe share their ideas in certain rooms because they're like, I don't there's patent pending on this, like I don't want anyone else to steal my idea. So a lot of what I do is just learning the little cues or being able to remember the little things that people tell you.

people what people wish to share with you tells a lot about what they value. So if you ask them, how was your weekend? And then they say, I barely got any rest and it was really busy, then that automatically tells you that they care a lot about self-care. They wish to be able to kind of be able to just relax, that that's valuable to them. They also care a lot about

being able to just kind of live in the quiet. So whatever you can do to kind of give those things to them is then important to them.

Jody Holland (03:48.717)
Yeah, so picking up on the the little nuances there. So Megan, what's your thoughts? What are if you were approaching people, let's say you're going to a hudo hudo chamber event and you're meeting so new people, what would you do?

Meghan Slaughter (04:02.063)
I think one of the biggest things for me is repeating somebody's name back to them because not only is that an acknowledgement of them, it also helps you remember it. And remembering somebody's name can go a long way with that relationship because the next time you see them and at an event or just out and about, you can say, Hey Jody, it's great to see you again. Hey Malia.

And then you can ask them a question based on something that you remember from them. So what Malia was saying was picking up on those little cues. Ask about that the next time you see them again. And this kind of helps you become a magnetic communicator. And Jodi, I know you've written a lot about that in several of your books and how you have to approach a conversation with confidence and you have to see the other person and reflect back to them what they're hoping to get. So

A lot of the times people want to tell you about themselves, be that sounding board, ask them questions, get them talking, and they're going to remember that conversation because they're gonna think, wow, they're really great at conversation and they ask me so many things about myself. And so they're more likely to remember you if they're able to talk about themselves. And I know that sounds a little bit funny because you kind of assume that if you're talking about yourself, they'll remember things, but really

they remember how you made them feel in that conversation. And so you need to make them feel understood and heard.

Jody Holland (05:27.299)
Yes.

Jody Holland (05:31.543)
And that the one of the books that you're referencing is Leadership Evo and talking about evolving into a great leader. And in that communications chapter, I talk about when you walk into a room, what are you exuding to people? Now imagine going back to a junior high dance and you scooch into the room and you go to the corner and you wait and hope either the the cute girl slash guy asks you to dance or that nobody notices you. But you just

Weight there. That does not exude confidence. When you walk into a room, you want a solid stride, you want to put your hand out as you're taking your last step. You put your hand out and you match or slightly go above the grip strength of the other person. This sounds silly to be thinking, we got to think about how we walk, how our chin is, what our handshake is. But I can tell you, if you shake hands with somebody that has a dead fish for a handshake, most people go.

They're not confident. I don't think I want to be their friend. And they probably should just go home now. Like we do not have positive thoughts about people when they don't master the handshake. Back to what you were saying, Megan, about the networking. We've talked about this in several books, but in networking with people, exactly what you said about ask questions, don't pitch you. That's what makes you stick in other people's minds. So you stride across the room, do a good handshake.

My name's Jody Holland. What's your name? And they say their name. And I always tell people, imagine a neon sign flashing with their name above their head. Now, be honest, if you're listening to this, how many times have you shook shook hands with somebody? And when you pull your hand back, you're like, dang, what was their name? And you've already forgot name. Because I know I've done it. So I had to start flashing the neon sign. That is Megan Slaughter, Megan Slaughter, Megan Slaughter.

Meghan Slaughter (07:20.687)
Yeah.

Jody Holland (07:26.87)
And then I would look for a characteristic about the person. Now here's a little trick that I try to exchange contact information quite a bit with people. And I use Popel, P-O-P-L. They've got a bunch of different ones out there, dot, popple, and a bunch of others. Anyway, it's a QR code. You scan the QR code, it asks them to put their information in, name, email address, company, and then it downloads all of my contact information, my YouTube channel, this podcast, all of it.

into their phone. And as soon as I get it in the notes section, I put something interesting about the person. To Megan's point, if I can remember their kid loves soccer. He was just a natural at soccer and started playing when he was two years old. And his name is Beckham. You're like, ooh, bend it like Beckham. Okay. I've I've got the correlation there. That's

Gonna go a long way for the next time that you see them, being able to say, how's your son doing? He was playing soccer, you said he's been doing it since two, and I believe he's five now. Is that correct? They're gonna go, man, how did you remember all of that? Well, that actually came out of a book called How to Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. And Harvey McKay was talking about sales and cultivating business. And I know Mike Grigsby has read this, he's not on today, but

He read the same book that I did because we read it together. And McKay came up with 66 things to memorize about every one of his customers. So every salesperson had to learn 66 individual things about every customer. I think four is good. If you remember four, you're better than 99% of the population. So don't think you have to kill it too much, but just be thinking about those things. That's what builds rapport. Now the resilience piece.

You get rejected from time to time. So I'm just curious, Megan, let's start with you. When you do get rejected, like you go try to introduce yourself to somebody and they're like, I'm good. And they like turn around and walk away. How do you handle that? What's the story that plays in your head?

Meghan Slaughter (09:35.206)
I think it can sting a little bit for all of us, but really rejection is just redirection because not everybody is your ideal customer. Not everybody wants to do business with you, and that's okay because you want to provide value for them. And so if they immediately see that you're not going to provide what they need or that they're not a fit for what you're selling, that's okay. You don't need to feel offended by that because there's somebody else out there who is the ideal customer.

Who does want to hear what you have to say and build that connection with you. So, you know, even sometimes when they're rejecting you, you can still ask them to keep you in mind for the future or tell somebody else about you. So just because you're not a fit for them doesn't mean you wouldn't be a fit for one of their friends. so sometimes making the connection is a good thing, even if you get rejected by that individual person.

Because it doesn't necessarily mean you're being rejected by them forever or by everyone around them either.

Jody Holland (10:38.946)
Yeah, and it's when you think about that rejection, that's a story playing in our head. Are we really being rejected or are we figuring out, like what you were describing, what fits and what doesn't fit? So

Meghan Slaughter (10:51.417)
Yeah, and you don't wanna waste anybody's time. So it's better for the relationship if you move on and try to connect with somebody else.

Jody Holland (10:54.638)
Okay.

Jody Holland (10:59.926)
I sometimes go backwards with that. And I'd like to get your take on this, Malia. Sometimes I go the other direction and go, I'm not sure if you would be a good fit for us or not. Here's what we do. And I just throw the, I'm not sure if you are. And I I took that from a guy named Robert Cialdini, and he talked about that in his book, Influence, that we will try to prove that we are a good fit when we think the customer or the company doesn't necessarily need us.

And I some people take that too far, but think about culture influence. You're trying to get a community to go in a a certain direction. Easiest way to persuade, I would think, through psychologically, it's called self-persuasion, is I don't know if you're a good fit for where we're going. You'll have to determine that. Here's what we do. You is that something that you think works, or have you tried that with some of what you've done with in Kansas City?

Maleah Berens (11:55.158)
So one of the approaches that I actually take, I think of Miracle on 34th Street. If we don't have it, we'll find it for you. and I think that's probably one of the best ways to make yourself a valued asset as a community leader. Saying, I don't know that I have all the answers that are perfect for you. it's more of not even saying like I don't know if I'm a good fit for you, but tell me what your needs are. And if I can't fulfill it, I'll help you find the person that can because chances are someone else is looking for those same things.

And whatever we end up finding together, I'll be able to recommend that to someone else as well. And one of my favorite micisms is he always says it's gonna happen the way it's going to happen, and it can't happen any other way. And I think that's been something that's really, really helpful for me. Just last week I held a leadership seminar and I didn't get the exact turnout that I was hoping for. I was hoping a couple more elected officials would show up that didn't, but

But it ended up being the most powerful room that I could not have curated on my own. And it just it had to play out the way it was supposed to play out. And through that I'd actually gained the exact traction that I needed, that I was able to even do it in a different type of room, that I was able to showcase the venue that we were at better. And it was like, okay, it happened exactly as it needed to happen, and it couldn't have happened any other way.

Jody Holland (13:19.63)
Curiosity, do you know which movie he's quoting when he says that?

Maleah Berens (13:24.488)
I don't

Meghan Slaughter (13:25.185)
Yeah.

Jody Holland (13:25.292)
1999, The Matrix. Yeah. Morpheus was the character, and he was explaining to Neo, because Neo is like, Well, I don't think I'm the one. And Morpheus goes, Whatever happened, happened, and it couldn't have happened in any other way. And so I've he's always loved that quote. And it's a really reassuring quote. And I think from a resilience standpoint, that does kind of give us that reassurance of stop thinking about it.

Maleah Berens (13:28.237)
really?

Jody Holland (13:53.729)
It already happened and now you can't unhappen it. So you can sit around and be miserable because something happened or you go, well, whatever happened happened and it couldn't have happened any other way. And now it definitely can't happen any other way because it's already done.

Meghan Slaughter (14:09.529)
Yeah.

Maleah Berens (14:09.631)
I think it it also allows you to be a lot more curious with whatever the situation is, whether you get rejected and you don't entirely understand why and understanding, okay, this is there was a reason behind this and and everything gets worked out for a reason.

But you approach it very differently where it's like, is it something that I did? Should I have packaged this in a different way? Is there something that I because maybe you know the company that you actually should have or you know that they do actually need your services or whatever it might be? but you're able to evaluate it in a more kind of a neutral territory and less emotional.

Jody Holland (14:48.428)
Yeah. And that's where some of that alignment comes in too, because back to the rapport thing, if I don't pressure you, then you're not defending yourself. And I don't know about you guys, but when you go to the networking events where you've got the card shovers where they're like, This is my card, you should buy stuff from me. I'm like, I'm good on emu oil. Please back off, you know, or whatever it is that they're selling in that moment. I all I can think about is

multi-level marketing people saying our product's the greatest product that's ever been and produced as a product and everybody should buy a product and you should buy right now. And you're just like, hang on, what's your name? And like we haven't even gotten to the basic part. So I think taking the pressure off and just saying, I'm definitely not here to sell you anything. Yeah, I that was a concept that I introduced in my judo life, the very first book that I published, where the guy had gotten fired, guy's name is Cody.

Very similar to Jody. I don't know where I came up with it. But the guy got fired from his job, but he had an appointment the next morning, but they they kept his contact information. He's like, I know who I'm supposed to meet with, but I don't know his number. So I'll just show up. So he shows up there and the guy and he are talking and he just starts saying, Well, what if you did this and what if you did this? Have you ever thought about organizing it this way? And just starts solving the problem. And the guy goes, I want you to do that. He goes, Do what?

He goes, I want you to solve the problem like you just described it. Can you do that? He goes, Yeah, I can. He goes, Well, what does that cost? He goes, Let me put a little thought in that. I want to make sure I get it accurate for you. I'll get you a proposal. So he goes and writes a proposal based on not trying to sell. He said when he walked in there, there was no pressure because he wasn't trying to sell anything. He just wanted to see if he could solve a problem. That's what you were saying, Malia, is that you're going to say, How can we help?

Which is a rapport-building activity, but it also builds resilience for both you and the other person because you're not fixed on doing anything. Like, think about that, Meg. I know you've done that quite a few times in networking deals where you just say, Well, tell me what's going on. And then you just listen. So I'll let you expand a little on that, but I think the tell me what's going on or or how can I help or or some phrase like that seems to be really good. So how would you, as a communications strategist,

Jody Holland (17:12.544)
Recommend people go about that.

Meghan Slaughter (17:15.213)
I think just coming into the conversation with an open mind and trying to hear the other person out is so helpful and it kind of opens the floodgates when you start asking people questions. And even if you're not selling to them, you can still be a resource for them. And by doing that and offering them value, they can kind of build that relationship with you as well. And it's a two sided, helpful situation where

you know, at past networking events, I've been talking to people and we realize that they don't need my services and I don't necessarily need their services, but I like them as a person. They were very kind and very respectful. And so I'm going to remember them. And so then if anybody else comes to me that I think need to might need that person, I can make that introduction for them. And the same thing goes for me, that they keep me in mind for leadership development and for all of their communications needs.

And so we continue that conversation and that relationship every time we see one another and we just recognize, hey, you know, I still don't necessarily need your services right now, but I do remember what you do and I have a friend and I think that they would be a great contact for you. And I also think that that takes the pressure off of being rejected again because

you can have a good relationship with somebody without it being a professional relationship. Sometimes it's just friendly, like you see one another and you say hi. And I think when you get rejected, you know, we have this story going on in our mind that it's something personal and most of the time it's not. And I think that building resilience, you have to understand that sometimes you can't change the circumstances.

Jody Holland (18:47.758)
Yeah.

Meghan Slaughter (19:07.887)
Sometimes you will be changed by your circumstances, but you never have to be reduced to your circumstances.

Jody Holland (19:14.924)
That is a really good way of saying that. I like that. I also think you like carry that rapport over now to the employment side of things. We've talked about it from networking and connecting with people, but as employees, for an employee to be resilient, if we have built good rapport, then it changes the feeling of the feedback. If I give somebody feedback, but we don't really have a relationship. Like I had a guy come up to me one time and he goes,

Meghan Slaughter (19:18.105)
Yeah.

Jody Holland (19:41.869)
I feel like we know each other well enough that I can just tell you this is what's wrong with your face. Yeah. And he was saying I needed to change my look in order to be accepted as a professional. And it was, I had a goatee. Like, I don't think that was that big of a deal. And clearly other people have facial hair. If we can get away with the Magnum PI mustaches today, then the goatee was fine. But that was insane. And I remember looking at him going, I don't think we know each other that well.

And I literally said that to him. And he goes, I mean, I've seen you at a bunch of events. I go, that's not rapport. With an employee, if they trust me, then they understand where I'm coming from when I give them feedback and when I give them coaching. So their resilience then is tied to how deep is our relationship. I typically will tell companies, ask your employees if I notice something that would make you more successful, would you want to know?

Almost everybody says yes. To date, nobody has said no to me on that. Then when I give feedback, I say, hey, I've noticed something that can make you more successful. Is it okay if I give you a little feedback? I'm asking for permission, which re-establishes re report. And then I'm saying, When you did X, this seemed to be the outcome. I feel like you were trying to get to this other outcome. Would you be open to talking about the process you followed and then figuring out how I can.

Assist you or help you to be more successful. And they go, Yeah, absolutely. So walk me through what happened. And they describe it. And they say, okay, well, at what point could you have done that differently? And they pick a point and say, Well, what do you think you could do next time? And they describe it. At no time did I actually tell them what to do. They already know the answer. I was just the facilitator of their thinking. And that's where the rapport really stays handy. Yeah, I see so many people though in business that they go,

Hey Malia, here's what you're doing wrong. I just thought you should know you're horrible at this. Don't ever do it again. All right, good talk. Like, that was not a good talk. That was just a cut down, and then you walked away. That's not feedback. So you got to be careful how you get feedback and you need permission, which rapport and permission go together. And then that helps to build that collaboration. It takes a long time.

Jody Holland (22:08.92)
To really build depth of relationship. That is not an overnight thing. And it's, I mean, I've known Megan her whole life, and I've actually known Malia her whole life as well. And I still am careful how I say things to either one of them because I don't want to destroy rapport. One bad episode of going after somebody will kill the rapport that you built over years.

You're never done building the relationship. You're always building the relationship. So anyway.

Maleah Berens (22:42.975)
I was was gonna add on to that quickly. One one more micism. he always tells me what you do today qualifies you for what you want to do tomorrow. And I think that's been something that really sticks with me because I don't know someone that I I don't know, I think about I work downtown Kansas City, there's a lot of homeless people around me. And I think about I have no idea one of those people that are on the side of the road that are in a sleeping bag could be one of the next CEOs of a company that I'm asking as a

sponsorship in the next five to ten years. What I do today and the way that I treat people today is how I'm gonna directly pay for that. Whatever the consequence is, good or bad, I'm gonna have to pay for that down the road. And that's why I treat everyone with respect and kindness and treat them, I mean the golden rule, treat everyone as you wish to be treated.

But I think about even the people that I have been like you're saying, it's one bad episode. People that I have been treated poorly by, it's like if they were to ask me for well whatever, I'm not a great example of this, because even like the worst people that ask me for things I probably still would give it to them. But in general, in theory, I'm strong enough would say no. But it's it's true, or you you have these bad feelings of like, I hear someone else speaking highly of them.

feels like it brings up all of these negative feelings and I don't ever wish for that to be me in the community. But yeah, just remembering w how you treat people now is how they're gonna treat you later.

Jody Holland (24:13.058)
And that's why I I follow Simon Sinek. I really like a lot of his stuff. He probably pushes too hard for some people's tastes on the way he presents things, but the core idea like from Leaders Eat Last was really good and it goes along with what you're saying is that great leaders will protect people and relationships. That's what we're trying to do. And you don't know who is important and who is not important and

I mean, I happen to know that Baylor University does an experiment where they take a bunch of CEOs and make them homeless people. They live on the streets for a week and just experience what that's like so that they will have more compassion. And people are paying to go do this. Like I signed up for the program, gave you $2,000 for you to take all my stuff away. But it is perspective. And I I try to think, I don't know what happened in their life. I don't know what they've gone through.

I'm going to treat them great. That concept, I'm going to say it was John Gordon. I just hit my microphone. I think it was John Gordon that wrote a book called The Janitor. It may not have been Gordon, but anyway, there's a book called The Janitor, and it was just explaining that same thing that you're walking through an organization, that janitor has value. The CEO has value, but the janitor has value too. And if you treat everybody as valuable humans, you really don't have to remember who you were nice to.

'Cause who you kick on the way up will kick you harder on the way back down.

Meghan Slaughter (25:43.5)
Yeah. I actually went and saw the Odyssey yesterday and I'm also reading the book right now. and it talks about that a lot. It's Zeus's law that you treat strangers as if they are of great importance because you never know who's a god in disguise. And so, you know, that's Greek mythology, but I think the same principle applies to today. You don't know who that person is and what walk of life they're on right now. So you treat them with kindness and you open up to them and

You are respectful no matter who they are or where they come from. I think that's a really important lesson for all of us, especially in business.

Jody Holland (26:20.878)
Yeah, I think so too. since you mentioned Greek mythology, I liked the story of Sisyphus. And he was the one that had to he was punished by the gods. He had to roll this giant boulder up the hill, and just as he would almost get to the top of the hill, the sun would go down, he'd be done for the day, they he would get out of the way, the boulder would roll back down. And he'd get back up the next day and he'd do it. And every single day that's what he was doing. And I I heard an interesting concept on that story. What if all of us

Or Sisyphus. Each one of us has a boulder that we're rolling uphill every day, and it's our burden, our challenge in life that we are facing, whether we chose it or it was chosen for us. But what if it's not punishment? What if you recognize how much stronger and more resilient you're becoming from taking your boulder and life and rolling it up the hill each day? So at the end of the day, yes, you're tired and your muscles are sore.

But you sleep through the night because you wore yourself out. And the next day, you're just a little bit stronger, and it's a little bit easier to roll that boulder up the hill. I think of of that that perspective in Greek mythology. There's so many good stories out of Greek mythology, the Odyssey being one of them and Odysseus' journey there. But I do think

If we learn the lessons, whether it was from Mikeisms or from The Matrix or from Greek mythology or from modern movies, the lessons were sprinkled in there because we learn through those stories. And we learn to manage our resilience by managing our own stories. So I would just encourage, and this is my final thought on this, and I'm going to get y'all's final thoughts, I would encourage that treat everybody as if

They are rolling a big boulder up a hill and they need your kindness today. And then remember that because they've been rolling that boulder up a hill every day, they have a resilience that you should respect and admire. So that's my parting thought. Megan, what's yours?

Meghan Slaughter (28:23.385)
I think that's really great. My parting thought would be we don't always get to choose who we work with, but we get to choose the relationship that we have with them. So be very intentional about every conversation you have, every interaction with one another, and just want the best for other people and you'll realize that they want the best for you too.

Jody Holland (28:45.314)
Yep. Malia, you're up.

Maleah Berens (28:46.911)
I love them. I think I said this before, but this is a tried and true thing that I stand by. Walk into every room believing that you have something to teach and something to learn from every person that's in the room with you.

Jody Holland (29:01.1)
That's excellent. I think that's a great way to end it. So thank you guys for being a part of Become the Leader. I believe our next episode is actually gonna be on how to become the leader that you would follow. So we're just gonna talk about why you would follow or runaway screaming from certain leaders. So we've got Megan, Malia, and I'm Jody, and we'll see you on the next episode.