WEBVTT 00:00:04.910 --> 00:00:06.710 All right, everyone. Thank you for joining us 00:00:06.710 --> 00:00:10.109 once again on Did You Know, the ESCO HVAC podcast. 00:00:10.669 --> 00:00:13.490 You know, we spend a lot of time in the technical 00:00:13.490 --> 00:00:16.929 delivery and the technical skill side, but sometimes 00:00:16.929 --> 00:00:20.210 we don't step back and think about like our own 00:00:20.210 --> 00:00:24.629 selves and our own authentic style and delivery 00:00:24.629 --> 00:00:28.390 and who we are as educators. So today we're blessed 00:00:28.390 --> 00:00:30.329 to spend some time with Christyn Mueller. How 00:00:30.329 --> 00:00:33.070 are you doing today? Great. How are you? I'm 00:00:33.070 --> 00:00:34.630 doing wonderful. You know, we started having 00:00:34.630 --> 00:00:37.969 a conversation about delivering your authentic 00:00:37.969 --> 00:00:40.570 self and even just understanding your authentic 00:00:40.570 --> 00:00:43.369 self. And I know like for myself, when I came 00:00:43.369 --> 00:00:46.149 out of the field and started teaching, I was 00:00:46.149 --> 00:00:48.149 a nervous wreck. I was like, you know, who am 00:00:48.149 --> 00:00:50.630 I supposed to be? What am I supposed to look 00:00:50.630 --> 00:00:53.609 like? How am I supposed to dress? And it took 00:00:53.609 --> 00:00:55.409 a little while for me to find out that it was 00:00:55.409 --> 00:00:59.030 really about delivering what I was hired to do. 00:00:59.469 --> 00:01:02.990 be myself and understand that. But that's not 00:01:02.990 --> 00:01:05.670 always the easiest thing to understand. And so 00:01:05.670 --> 00:01:07.750 I know you did a class at our conference and 00:01:07.750 --> 00:01:10.530 it was incredibly well received. And so I thought 00:01:10.530 --> 00:01:13.590 maybe we could like regroup on that and dive 00:01:13.590 --> 00:01:16.329 a little bit deeper into like our authentic self. 00:01:17.420 --> 00:01:19.599 I would love that. I would love that, Clifton. 00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:23.260 So the thought comes to mind as well as I'm facilitating 00:01:23.260 --> 00:01:26.079 often and I walk into a classroom and I'm thinking, 00:01:26.180 --> 00:01:29.180 who should I be today? And then you take a step 00:01:29.180 --> 00:01:30.980 back and you're like, I shouldn't be anybody 00:01:30.980 --> 00:01:33.840 but myself because the stories that I'm going 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:36.060 to tell or the personality that I'm bringing 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:39.540 to the table, if it's not me, they're not going 00:01:39.540 --> 00:01:42.500 to get anything out of it. Because as educators, 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:45.549 you have to remember. You're at the front of 00:01:45.549 --> 00:01:47.090 the room because you know something that they 00:01:47.090 --> 00:01:49.730 don't know. Or you're there because you're bringing 00:01:49.730 --> 00:01:52.750 something that they want to learn from you. So 00:01:52.750 --> 00:01:55.969 that's the number one place to start is keep 00:01:55.969 --> 00:01:58.810 reminding yourself you're here because you know 00:01:58.810 --> 00:02:01.769 something. And it's your job to display that. 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:06.019 I am wanted here. I do know what I'm talking 00:02:06.019 --> 00:02:10.860 about. I hope I do. Yeah, I am wanted. I know 00:02:10.860 --> 00:02:14.500 something and I'm bringing some energy to the 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:18.199 table as well. So even thinking back to the conference, 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:21.580 I think my session was at 7 a .m. Why not start 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:24.050 with a game? Right. Let's start with a game, 00:02:24.090 --> 00:02:26.969 because that's what I love to do in my free time 00:02:26.969 --> 00:02:29.610 is just have some fun. So it's bringing that 00:02:29.610 --> 00:02:33.729 energy and that life to to a classroom when folks 00:02:33.729 --> 00:02:36.449 may or may not want to be there. Right. We definitely 00:02:36.449 --> 00:02:39.530 have those. Yeah. You know, I think about some 00:02:39.530 --> 00:02:41.930 of the most successful educators in our industry. 00:02:42.810 --> 00:02:45.189 And once I've gotten to know them, I've been 00:02:45.189 --> 00:02:48.409 so fortunate to be able to meet and talk to these 00:02:48.409 --> 00:02:51.330 people that I used to learn from. And then typically 00:02:51.330 --> 00:02:54.590 after meeting them, I find out that, wow, they're 00:02:54.590 --> 00:02:58.349 the same person off camera that they are on camera 00:02:58.349 --> 00:03:01.669 or in front of the classroom. And I think that 00:03:01.669 --> 00:03:04.270 kind of brings that comfort level. I think we 00:03:04.270 --> 00:03:08.939 present better when we're in our own skin. Absolutely. 00:03:09.180 --> 00:03:13.159 Absolutely. From the stories we tell to, again, 00:03:13.259 --> 00:03:15.819 your personality, what you're wearing, all the 00:03:15.819 --> 00:03:18.259 things, it allows you to be a little bit more 00:03:18.259 --> 00:03:20.599 comfortable. We started saying at the beginning 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:22.400 of this clip that, are you nervous? I'm nervous, 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:25.520 right? But why? Because we're wearing what we 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:28.360 want to wear today. We are who we are. And I 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:31.319 will never apologize for that. Even even thinking 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:34.419 about internal presentations, you know, reviewing 00:03:34.419 --> 00:03:36.580 them ahead of time. It's but should you say that? 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:39.599 Should you? Should you not? Why not? I am who 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:43.080 I am. And I'm not going to apologize for a joke 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:47.539 or a story, even if a story doesn't fully make 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:50.539 sense in that moment. It brings people back. 00:03:50.889 --> 00:03:53.990 to what I want to talk about as well. Boy, I 00:03:53.990 --> 00:03:56.629 know I was just scared to death when I became 00:03:56.629 --> 00:03:59.930 an educator on that because I didn't know like 00:03:59.930 --> 00:04:03.409 what stories do I have are relevant? You know, 00:04:03.409 --> 00:04:05.669 what stories are they going to be received well 00:04:05.669 --> 00:04:08.490 because I don't know the audience. And sometimes 00:04:08.490 --> 00:04:10.689 I go through classes and not share some of my 00:04:10.689 --> 00:04:14.909 best content because maybe I just wasn't like 00:04:14.909 --> 00:04:17.990 comfortable in my own skin at the minute. And 00:04:17.990 --> 00:04:20.610 later in life, I realized that. And that's really 00:04:20.610 --> 00:04:23.410 not a great perspective to have in front of a 00:04:23.410 --> 00:04:26.829 classroom. Exactly. Exactly. I think for the 00:04:26.829 --> 00:04:30.730 first several years in my career, nobody knew 00:04:30.730 --> 00:04:33.850 I had children. They had no idea I did because 00:04:33.850 --> 00:04:36.490 I was under the impression I leave my work or 00:04:36.490 --> 00:04:39.069 my home life at home. Right. And my work life 00:04:39.069 --> 00:04:41.850 at work. And then I thought, you know what? No, 00:04:41.990 --> 00:04:44.250 because some things that are happening at home, 00:04:44.290 --> 00:04:46.449 some of the funny stories that happen or some 00:04:46.449 --> 00:04:49.529 of the life lessons that I'm learning in my house 00:04:49.529 --> 00:04:52.629 are really applicable at work as well. So why 00:04:52.629 --> 00:04:56.029 not let them in to to your authentic self? I 00:04:56.029 --> 00:05:00.350 think I am. better engaged as an educator when 00:05:00.350 --> 00:05:04.970 I am 100 % myself. Wow. Okay. We're letting the 00:05:04.970 --> 00:05:07.149 curtains down. I'm going to open some vulnerability 00:05:07.149 --> 00:05:10.290 here. You sparked something, especially about 00:05:10.290 --> 00:05:13.509 children. So one of the things that I have always 00:05:13.509 --> 00:05:18.050 struggled with in my professional career is that 00:05:18.050 --> 00:05:21.970 I've been divorced twice. And when I bring that 00:05:21.970 --> 00:05:25.110 up in class, people are like, well, do you just 00:05:25.110 --> 00:05:26.850 suck at relations? I was like, well, that's a 00:05:26.850 --> 00:05:28.689 piece of it. I've had to learn a lot along the 00:05:28.689 --> 00:05:32.290 way. But as a technician, I typically worked. 00:05:32.370 --> 00:05:35.430 When I was on overtime, when I was on call, I 00:05:35.430 --> 00:05:39.610 would work 70, 80 hours in a week, and I missed 00:05:39.610 --> 00:05:45.790 a lot of home life. And for a long time, I was 00:05:45.790 --> 00:05:51.410 very embarrassed of that, that my work had such 00:05:51.410 --> 00:05:55.629 a detrimental consequence in my personal life. 00:05:55.970 --> 00:05:58.750 Even though I was excelling professionally, I 00:05:58.750 --> 00:06:02.730 struggled personally because of that. And after 00:06:02.730 --> 00:06:05.310 I started sharing that in classes, especially 00:06:05.310 --> 00:06:08.430 with those hungry, those hardworking service 00:06:08.430 --> 00:06:11.709 technicians, once I started sharing that, a lot 00:06:11.709 --> 00:06:13.629 of them would say, you know, I've always wondered 00:06:13.629 --> 00:06:16.430 that if I work too much. Does it affect the home 00:06:16.430 --> 00:06:18.230 life? I'm like, it absolutely does. And I don't 00:06:18.230 --> 00:06:20.490 think enough of us talk about that because in 00:06:20.490 --> 00:06:22.930 reflection, there's a lot of things I learned 00:06:22.930 --> 00:06:25.930 as an adult once I started focusing on these 00:06:25.930 --> 00:06:28.649 communicating skills and interpersonal communication 00:06:28.649 --> 00:06:32.149 and understanding my own emotional intelligence 00:06:32.149 --> 00:06:35.970 that I started realizing that those kind of stories, 00:06:36.129 --> 00:06:41.129 those genuine, those struggles, those heartfelt 00:06:41.129 --> 00:06:44.779 experiences that we may. be a little bit ashamed 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:47.860 to bring up in front of a class, sometimes it 00:06:47.860 --> 00:06:50.699 is the thing that can make us connect even stronger 00:06:50.699 --> 00:06:54.139 to that class. So it's an uncomfortable place, 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:57.000 but it's a place of growth like most uncomfortable 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.740 situations are. Yeah, if you're not uncomfortable, 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:02.759 you're not growing. Exactly. Well said. Right. 00:07:02.860 --> 00:07:05.639 And I think I think, again, those lessons learned 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:07.500 make you a better employee. They make you a better 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:10.600 educator and they make you a better leader over 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:12.879 time. And we're all we're all leaders in our 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:16.160 own right. So it allows us to take those situations 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:19.980 and share that vulnerable situation, become transparent. 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:22.379 It allows you to be a little bit more approachable 00:07:22.379 --> 00:07:25.459 as well. So I said, you know, you're you're at 00:07:25.459 --> 00:07:27.220 that classroom in front of the classroom because 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:29.939 you know. something that potentially they don't 00:07:29.939 --> 00:07:32.540 know. But you also have to take the wall down 00:07:32.540 --> 00:07:35.620 and be that approachable person that we all want 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:38.459 to be. And sometimes it's sharing those scary 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:40.819 stories or saying, hey, I really messed up today. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.480 Here's what happened. And they're like, oh, I've 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:45.439 done that too. Or I've been in that situation. 00:07:45.860 --> 00:07:49.439 And let's talk about it, right? So it's not scary 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:52.540 or embarrassing. It's let's all learn together 00:07:52.540 --> 00:07:56.490 as one. Yeah, I have a really close friend and 00:07:56.490 --> 00:08:01.089 I try not to call him out socially, but I'm going 00:08:01.089 --> 00:08:05.149 to today, Paul Grimm. So Paul Grimm is an amazing 00:08:05.149 --> 00:08:09.389 educator. He's just a phenomenal friend and human 00:08:09.389 --> 00:08:11.910 being. And every time I ask him about doing classes, 00:08:11.990 --> 00:08:13.709 he's like, I don't know what I have to offer. 00:08:14.629 --> 00:08:18.569 And I don't think he realizes how much he actually 00:08:18.569 --> 00:08:22.810 has to offer. And I think many people, they... 00:08:23.149 --> 00:08:25.889 struggle to become educators. They struggle to 00:08:25.889 --> 00:08:28.170 make that transition from technicians into the 00:08:28.170 --> 00:08:31.350 classroom only because they don't see themselves 00:08:31.350 --> 00:08:35.049 as having something to offer, not realizing that 00:08:35.049 --> 00:08:39.690 they have so much to offer. And it's getting 00:08:39.690 --> 00:08:43.309 past that mental barrier. I mean, it really is 00:08:43.309 --> 00:08:46.090 a mental barrier to understand who our authentic 00:08:46.090 --> 00:08:50.289 self is. If someone is asking us to present a 00:08:50.289 --> 00:08:53.879 class, It's probably because you know what you're 00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:56.720 talking about and we want that to be shared with 00:08:56.720 --> 00:09:00.360 the world. Yeah, absolutely. It takes a little 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:02.759 bit of, to your point, self -reflection. You 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:06.480 know, what do I bring to the table in allowing 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:09.799 feedback from others to come in and take that 00:09:09.799 --> 00:09:12.220 positive feedback and grow from it? I think so 00:09:12.220 --> 00:09:15.509 many times we're not willing to. to ask for the 00:09:15.509 --> 00:09:17.629 feedback. So we have to seek the feedback and 00:09:17.629 --> 00:09:19.950 then be open to hearing what folks have to say. 00:09:20.110 --> 00:09:22.110 And you'd be surprised, right? They'd say, oh 00:09:22.110 --> 00:09:25.149 my gosh, you're so great at that. Or why haven't 00:09:25.149 --> 00:09:28.029 you thought about doing this? And it just takes 00:09:28.029 --> 00:09:31.929 that one encouragement sometimes to be your authentic 00:09:31.929 --> 00:09:34.169 self and to say, hey, you know what? I was meant 00:09:34.169 --> 00:09:36.250 for this because I don't know that many of us 00:09:36.250 --> 00:09:39.570 walk into this thinking. I'm going to be an educator 00:09:39.570 --> 00:09:43.669 for adults for the rest of my career. We happen 00:09:43.669 --> 00:09:47.769 to fall into it sometimes because it was that 00:09:47.769 --> 00:09:50.049 little piece of encouragement that came to the 00:09:50.049 --> 00:09:53.330 table. We have such a shortage of technicians 00:09:53.330 --> 00:09:56.350 in our industry. In most trades, we have a shortage. 00:09:56.570 --> 00:09:58.370 But the thing that we don't always talk about 00:09:58.370 --> 00:10:01.490 enough is the fact that we have just as much 00:10:01.490 --> 00:10:05.809 of a shortage of educators. When COVID came along, 00:10:06.460 --> 00:10:08.980 Many of our experienced educators took early 00:10:08.980 --> 00:10:12.320 retirement. And so we have a lot of new generation 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:14.840 of instructors coming into the classroom, which 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:18.059 is wonderful. But I also like to reach out to 00:10:18.059 --> 00:10:20.899 those experienced technicians that have never 00:10:20.899 --> 00:10:23.809 thought about. teaching, have never thought about 00:10:23.809 --> 00:10:26.750 becoming an instructor because what they have 00:10:26.750 --> 00:10:29.269 to give back, they don't always understand the 00:10:29.269 --> 00:10:32.590 value in that, right? Those experiences, those 00:10:32.590 --> 00:10:35.629 life lessons, those little things that could 00:10:35.629 --> 00:10:38.389 save one minute here and five minutes here and 00:10:38.389 --> 00:10:40.429 10 minutes there. Well, when you bring those 00:10:40.429 --> 00:10:42.590 into a classroom and you start sharing those, 00:10:42.750 --> 00:10:44.710 well, those little one minutes start multiplying 00:10:44.710 --> 00:10:46.509 by however many people you have in that classroom. 00:10:46.750 --> 00:10:49.730 And it just starts multiplying and steamrolling. 00:10:50.330 --> 00:10:53.169 So I always like to encourage, you know, our 00:10:53.169 --> 00:10:57.110 our listeners, our technicians that haven't yet 00:10:57.110 --> 00:11:00.110 became educators, but have always wondered what 00:11:00.110 --> 00:11:02.389 it would be like. I can tell you it's a very 00:11:02.389 --> 00:11:05.750 gratifying experience to be able to feed minds. 00:11:06.149 --> 00:11:08.450 That's really what we're doing when we come into 00:11:08.450 --> 00:11:10.929 the classroom. And so making that step, that 00:11:10.929 --> 00:11:13.950 self -reflection of who am I? You know, do I 00:11:13.950 --> 00:11:17.779 have what it takes to. speak in front of a classroom. 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:20.440 And I always like to ask the question, have you 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:23.620 ever given any technicians around you words of 00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:27.639 advice? And if you have, you actually already 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:31.279 have became an educator and may not have realized 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:34.500 that. And so we want to push, we want to push 00:11:34.500 --> 00:11:38.360 everyone to understand what they can be and who 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:43.750 they could potentially become. Absolutely. It's 00:11:43.750 --> 00:11:46.769 those things that the book can't teach you. You 00:11:46.769 --> 00:11:48.889 can sit in a classroom all day long, but it's 00:11:48.889 --> 00:11:50.950 the stories that people are going to walk away 00:11:50.950 --> 00:11:53.710 with. And I was saying before, and you were mentioning 00:11:53.710 --> 00:11:56.710 it too, but feedback. I keep feedback from every 00:11:56.710 --> 00:11:59.649 class, every presentation I ever give, and I 00:11:59.649 --> 00:12:02.350 keep it in a folder. When I'm having a day, Clifton, 00:12:02.409 --> 00:12:05.950 when I'm having that day, I go back to that and 00:12:05.950 --> 00:12:08.950 say, you know what? I am good at this. This is 00:12:08.950 --> 00:12:14.100 what I meant. to do. So some of those things, 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:16.320 and we're mentioning stories and what impact 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:18.899 you can give somebody. A piece of feedback I 00:12:18.899 --> 00:12:21.159 read this morning was some of the stories and 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:23.019 lessons that we talked about in the classroom 00:12:23.019 --> 00:12:26.460 will live on for years. So we'll take these with 00:12:26.460 --> 00:12:31.279 us in our job. take onto our team as well. So 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:33.419 I think that's the powerful piece of being an 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:36.379 educator is it's not always what's on the slide. 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:39.440 What's on the slide is great, but it's what you 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:41.580 are bringing to the table within your authentic 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:45.289 self that makes the biggest difference. I hadn't 00:12:45.289 --> 00:12:47.090 really thought about that from that self -reflection 00:12:47.090 --> 00:12:50.850 aspect. When we were coming out of the conference, 00:12:51.029 --> 00:12:53.570 you know, in the feed loop app, the new app that 00:12:53.570 --> 00:12:54.690 we've been using for the conference, there's 00:12:54.690 --> 00:12:57.529 a section for feedback for the classrooms. And 00:12:57.529 --> 00:13:00.610 it was just a couple of days after the conference, 00:13:00.730 --> 00:13:03.149 we were all regrouping, starting to sort through 00:13:03.149 --> 00:13:07.110 some of the things. And I got an email from Renee. 00:13:07.169 --> 00:13:09.840 She's like. I just seen the coolest thing. Look 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.000 at this information. And she shared it. And it 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:15.259 was your email about all of the reviews from 00:13:15.259 --> 00:13:17.879 your classroom because you had had a feedback 00:13:17.879 --> 00:13:21.879 request from everyone in your classroom. And 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:24.000 now it completely makes sense. Like that could 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.860 be a strong motivator for why am I good at what 00:13:27.860 --> 00:13:31.139 I'm doing? Actually reading the responses from 00:13:31.139 --> 00:13:35.299 the classroom. It reminds you to be who you are. 00:13:35.779 --> 00:13:38.779 That's the biggest thing that I take away from 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:42.100 it. It's not, wow, Kristen, you killed it. You're 00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:44.320 great at this and just keep hyping yourself up. 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:47.440 But it's a reminder that, yeah, it was okay that 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:50.320 I took 30 seconds to tell that silly story. It's 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:53.120 okay that we took the first five minutes to play 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:56.559 a game, but that's who I am. And then it's going 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:59.500 to bring folks in to pay attention to the meat 00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:02.639 of what you have to offer as well. You see a 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:05.320 little glimpse of, okay, she's not just somebody 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:07.539 standing at the front of the room. She is who 00:14:07.539 --> 00:14:10.100 she is. It's what you're going to get, whether 00:14:10.100 --> 00:14:12.399 that be, you know, a silly outfit or a silly 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:16.639 game. You never know, right? Yeah. I definitely 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:22.000 go with the silly outfits. But it's so funny 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:23.940 because since I've started doing that, right, 00:14:23.980 --> 00:14:26.299 that was actually supposed to be a one -time 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:30.299 thing. You know, when we went to AHR two years 00:14:30.299 --> 00:14:32.960 ago, that was my very first time going to AHR. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:36.940 It was my first big conference in my new role. 00:14:37.299 --> 00:14:41.460 And I was just like, man, it's got to be big 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:43.620 or it's got to be nothing. And so, you know, 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:46.960 I grabbed some gold sequined suits for the team. 00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:50.360 And we went to AHR in gold sequined suits. And 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:53.860 it brought so many questions and comments. But 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:56.850 out of that. I started getting requests. What 00:14:56.850 --> 00:14:58.210 are you wearing next? What are you bringing next? 00:14:58.429 --> 00:15:00.769 And I thought, okay, great. This has now become 00:15:00.769 --> 00:15:02.929 like my thing, whether I want it or not. But 00:15:02.929 --> 00:15:05.129 then I started seeing other educators breaking 00:15:05.129 --> 00:15:08.769 out of their comfort zone, doing classes in outfits 00:15:08.769 --> 00:15:12.330 and costumes. And it started making me think 00:15:12.330 --> 00:15:15.850 that, man, wow, if we could help release that, 00:15:15.990 --> 00:15:20.230 like let that inner self, let that true self. 00:15:20.889 --> 00:15:23.190 be more comfortable in their skin in front of 00:15:23.190 --> 00:15:25.830 the classroom, it does become a more interesting 00:15:25.830 --> 00:15:29.379 and engaging classroom. Absolutely. Because, 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:31.879 again, you're bringing your true self to that 00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:34.259 classroom. You're not pretending to be somebody 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:37.879 that you're not. The amount of energy it takes 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:40.559 to be somebody that you are not meant to be is 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:43.519 exhausting. Oh, yeah. We think about how nervous 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:46.120 are you at that front of the classroom or did 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:48.279 you review all of your materials? You know, what 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:50.419 questions should I ask? How do I keep them engaged? 00:15:50.620 --> 00:15:53.679 There's a thousand things going on. Imagine adding 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:57.750 to it. somebody that you're not. And, you know, 00:15:57.750 --> 00:16:00.149 how should I stand? What mannerism should I have? 00:16:00.309 --> 00:16:02.490 Should I smile? Should I not? All the things 00:16:02.490 --> 00:16:05.730 that you're not, perhaps, you know, it's going 00:16:05.730 --> 00:16:08.269 to expend so much energy that you just don't 00:16:08.269 --> 00:16:11.970 have. And I'd rather put that into being who 00:16:11.970 --> 00:16:14.789 I am and giving them the material that I'm there 00:16:14.789 --> 00:16:18.139 to do. Yeah, no, absolutely. You know, I always 00:16:18.139 --> 00:16:21.659 reflect back on my very first classroom. So I 00:16:21.659 --> 00:16:24.639 came out of the field. I spent over 20 years 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:29.000 as a refrigeration technician and building automations 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:31.679 engineer. And when I came into the classroom, 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:34.399 I was so nervous. You know, bought a new sport 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:40.100 jacket, new slacks, new shoes. I was just clean 00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:43.100 and trim. And showed up for the class, and it 00:16:43.100 --> 00:16:46.679 was a continuing education class. And in Indiana, 00:16:46.860 --> 00:16:49.500 continuing education is not required. And so 00:16:49.500 --> 00:16:54.000 I was all nervous and excited, and no one showed. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:59.240 I was heartbroken. I was like, I thought I was 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:02.279 doing everything right to be this. instructor, 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:06.420 this person. And then, so I got past that on 00:17:06.420 --> 00:17:08.519 that first class. And on my second one, I was 00:17:08.519 --> 00:17:10.539 like, you know what? I'm not putting that kind 00:17:10.539 --> 00:17:14.960 of work into it. And so I was just in almost 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:17.319 work clothes, like not quite technician, but 00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:19.779 pretty dang close for my second class. And I 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:23.299 was in there and I was wiring up an EC motor 00:17:23.299 --> 00:17:25.900 onto an exercise bike. And I was running light 00:17:25.900 --> 00:17:27.980 bulbs and I was running all the wiring and people 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:29.859 started actually coming in for class. And they're 00:17:29.859 --> 00:17:32.500 like, Are you the instructor? And I'm like, uh 00:17:32.500 --> 00:17:35.440 -oh. I've got students this time. They're like, 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:38.559 what are you doing? I'm like, I'm having fun 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:42.279 generating power from a motor off from this exercise 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:46.319 bike. And then it just went. I realized just 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:50.380 that if I could be myself in all my quirkiness, 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:55.220 people really enjoyed it that much more. It wasn't 00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:57.480 what they were expecting. It wasn't that instructor 00:17:57.480 --> 00:18:01.619 that I. portrayed on day one that I was uncomfortable 00:18:01.619 --> 00:18:07.819 being in. It was just myself. Yeah. I mean, one 00:18:07.819 --> 00:18:09.680 of the biggest things, it's silly, but one of 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:11.859 the biggest things we talk about presenting or 00:18:11.859 --> 00:18:14.440 being an educator is wear something that you're 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:17.160 comfortable wearing. If you're not comfortable, 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:20.359 you're pulling at your jacket, you can't walk 00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:23.059 in the shoes because they're not meant for that 00:18:23.059 --> 00:18:26.359 environment or so on, right? So wear what you're 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:29.819 comfortable wearing, be who you are, and just 00:18:29.819 --> 00:18:33.390 bring your whole self. I think about... you know, 00:18:33.410 --> 00:18:35.690 again, transparency and just being authentic 00:18:35.690 --> 00:18:39.390 in general. So one of my team members said this 00:18:39.390 --> 00:18:41.630 morning, I said, wow, that was a silly story. 00:18:41.710 --> 00:18:43.349 I don't know why we went there in your one -on 00:18:43.349 --> 00:18:45.609 -one today. And she goes, but that's okay because 00:18:45.609 --> 00:18:47.650 you're approachable, right? You're approachable. 00:18:47.750 --> 00:18:51.410 And I was nervous for a conversation today. So 00:18:51.410 --> 00:18:53.789 it brought the wall down, right? It brings the 00:18:53.789 --> 00:18:57.829 walls down and just allows you to be that approachable 00:18:57.829 --> 00:19:02.619 educator that you want to be. I love it. So moral 00:19:02.619 --> 00:19:07.660 of the story, bring your authentic self and be 00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:10.680 proud of it. Yeah, be proud, be proud. Don't 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:13.079 apologize for who you are. Again, you're there 00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:14.880 because you know something that they don't know 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:17.400 and you're there to share yourself with them 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:19.680 as well. Not just the content, but your stories, 00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:22.759 your experiences and everything that you're bringing 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:24.980 to the table, whether it's a sequined suit or 00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:29.940 not. Clifton, I'm not sure, but bring it because 00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:34.019 just bring it. That might be the name of this 00:19:34.019 --> 00:19:36.099 podcast. Now I think about it, just bring it. 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:39.180 Just bring it. Yep. I love it. I do too. Krista 00:19:39.180 --> 00:19:41.059 Mueller, thank you so much for joining us. How 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:43.460 can our audience learn more about you and what 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:46.259 you're doing in our industry? Check out LinkedIn. 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:48.839 I have a lot of things going on out there as 00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:51.480 to where I'm presenting what I'm doing. New and 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:54.559 exciting initiatives that were going on. I'm 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.759 also a member and a board member of the Women 00:19:56.759 --> 00:20:00.799 in HVAC organization. So please, please join 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:03.740 that as well if you have the opportunity. Okay. 00:20:03.779 --> 00:20:05.660 Well, we thank you so much for your time today. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.960 Absolutely. Thank you, Clifton.