WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.640 All right, welcome in to Vision Pros Live. With 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:05.860 Jackson Callum, I'm your show host. We'll be 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:07.620 doing interviews for visionary entrepreneurs 00:00:07.620 --> 00:00:10.500 and guest leaders who are building fantastic 00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:21.179 visions out there. All right, I'm here with Derek 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:25.579 Anderson, founder of Skills2Heal. He is a great 00:00:25.579 --> 00:00:28.300 friend of one of my best friends. Joel Simmons. 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:31.120 We got to meet just a little bit ago, about a 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:34.340 week or two ago. And we rocked out talking about 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:37.000 basketball, the basketball player, Derek Anderson, 00:00:37.259 --> 00:00:40.219 God, and the importance of God in our lives. 00:00:40.299 --> 00:00:42.840 Derek, my friend, tell me about your vision. 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:47.619 Skills to heal is self -awareness. Skills to 00:00:47.619 --> 00:00:50.079 heal is development. Skills to heal is balance. 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:56.359 Skills to heal is... Something that's set in 00:00:56.359 --> 00:01:01.359 place for young people to find their path and 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:05.840 to find their calling. And it allows me and it 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:09.359 allows us, my team, to help work with them to 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:12.060 get them to where they need to be. From 16 to 00:01:12.060 --> 00:01:18.120 24 -year -olds. And it's meant to help young 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:21.060 people get to where they need to be in life. 00:01:22.469 --> 00:01:25.030 Man, I love that you lean into it. I love the 00:01:25.030 --> 00:01:27.129 way you lean into it as you and Joel and I unpack 00:01:27.129 --> 00:01:30.549 that reality. I got to see the core of your heart 00:01:30.549 --> 00:01:33.569 on this matter. And it's huge, man. I want to 00:01:33.569 --> 00:01:35.890 read what you wrote. You wrote in as well. My 00:01:35.890 --> 00:01:38.069 vision is to empower the young people to gain 00:01:38.069 --> 00:01:40.730 the knowledge of skills for productive living. 00:01:41.129 --> 00:01:43.890 appropriate social engagement and transitional 00:01:43.890 --> 00:01:47.349 skills through education and practical implementation. 00:01:47.670 --> 00:01:50.430 Man, I could have used that to provide an opportunity 00:01:50.430 --> 00:01:52.930 for people to successfully meet and overcome 00:01:52.930 --> 00:01:55.430 challenges in their lives. And Skills to Heal 00:01:55.430 --> 00:01:58.469 has provided mentoring programs for middle and 00:01:58.469 --> 00:02:01.390 high school youth and enrichment for the adults 00:02:01.390 --> 00:02:04.390 as well. The program will form partnerships with 00:02:04.390 --> 00:02:06.930 other community organizations, local school districts, 00:02:07.109 --> 00:02:09.090 the juvenile justice and court system to provide 00:02:09.090 --> 00:02:12.590 mentoring services. I mean, those 16 to 24 year 00:02:12.590 --> 00:02:15.830 old individuals. And that is such a big vision. 00:02:16.050 --> 00:02:18.849 What what's what caused you to do it? Where did 00:02:18.849 --> 00:02:24.969 the vision come from? I started out in a school 00:02:24.969 --> 00:02:28.490 district. I always lived in an area where there 00:02:28.490 --> 00:02:32.030 was a lot of poverty and things and a lot of 00:02:32.030 --> 00:02:34.289 disadvantages financially with the people that 00:02:34.289 --> 00:02:38.789 I deal with on a day to day basis. And it got 00:02:38.789 --> 00:02:41.879 to a point to where. Me and two of my uncles, 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:43.719 we just felt like we needed to do something about 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:47.099 it. And it started at my home, actually. And 00:02:47.099 --> 00:02:50.180 kids would come by, and they couldn't afford 00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:52.840 to get haircuts and things like that. And they 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:57.319 couldn't get food. They needed tutoring. So it 00:02:57.319 --> 00:02:59.240 just started right there in my home. And my uncle 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:04.020 was like, you know, you can really, really do 00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:06.300 this and work with young people. And at the time, 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:08.960 I was like, yeah, right, man. We're just helping 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:14.020 kids. And eventually it just turned into something 00:03:14.020 --> 00:03:20.039 bigger than what I could really see. So that's 00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:22.300 what a vision is anyway. So, you know, dude, 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:24.599 I love what your uncle said, too, about that, 00:03:24.659 --> 00:03:26.560 because I'm going to I'm going to put a challenging 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:28.659 question out there. OK, you can go any direction 00:03:28.659 --> 00:03:33.280 you want with this. But Derek, if I gave you 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:37.319 one hundred thousand dollars today, could you 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:41.300 help more young people? Or would that make it 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:45.000 harder to help more young people? I could help 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:48.400 more young people. 100 percent. Right. Money 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:51.879 is a resource known as visionaries. Right. If 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:54.840 we if we embrace that reality of weight, we need 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:57.500 the resources. You know, God provides resources 00:03:57.500 --> 00:04:00.860 we need, but we still need those resources in 00:04:00.860 --> 00:04:04.080 order to do the work. And as honorable of a fashion 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:06.620 as possible, it creates stability for those that 00:04:06.620 --> 00:04:09.639 we serve. So you mentioned knowing about poverty. 00:04:10.300 --> 00:04:13.060 I got to ask, what's your why? In fact, I'm going 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:16.040 to upgrade it. Not only what is your why, but 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:19.600 what's the story behind your why, man? Are you 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:22.779 talking about as far as poverty or? Yeah, like 00:04:22.779 --> 00:04:28.620 ultimately, what drives you to do all this? Because 00:04:28.620 --> 00:04:33.420 I grew up in a household where there was a lot 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:36.459 of, we're going to dive deep below the surface 00:04:36.459 --> 00:04:38.439 here. Please do, man. That's exactly where we 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:40.019 want to go. That's exactly where we want to go. 00:04:40.220 --> 00:04:42.500 I grew up in a household where there was a lot 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:50.040 of alcoholism and drugs and stuff. And I was 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:52.060 lucky enough to come out of that. God allowed 00:04:52.060 --> 00:04:53.639 me to come out of that. And I really believe 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:57.019 his purpose was for me to come out of that to 00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:59.079 help other people that I would cross paths with, 00:04:59.180 --> 00:05:05.560 particularly young people. And I seen children. 00:05:06.750 --> 00:05:08.490 going through the same thing I went through. 00:05:09.490 --> 00:05:13.149 And it was a lot easier to help them when I can 00:05:13.149 --> 00:05:16.649 say, oh, you know, my dad's an alcoholic or my 00:05:16.649 --> 00:05:19.269 mom is, you know, she's on drugs, she's strung 00:05:19.269 --> 00:05:21.610 out, she's part of prostitution or whatever. 00:05:23.110 --> 00:05:27.189 And it was like, man, it's like I'm seeing my 00:05:27.189 --> 00:05:30.170 life all over again. I got to prevent this or 00:05:30.170 --> 00:05:32.589 do something about it. And we're not the type 00:05:32.589 --> 00:05:34.910 of people, and I'm including you too, Jackson. 00:05:35.470 --> 00:05:38.870 We just can't just walk away from it. No. Just 00:05:38.870 --> 00:05:42.829 like, you know. I'm an Ecuador man. I'm in Ecuador 00:05:42.829 --> 00:05:45.170 helping as many people as I can down here right 00:05:45.170 --> 00:05:50.730 now. No, I can't walk away. And that's what happened. 00:05:51.089 --> 00:05:53.170 I saw a lot of underprivileged kids that lived 00:05:53.170 --> 00:05:54.850 in poverty. They went through the same thing 00:05:54.850 --> 00:05:57.389 that I went through. And instead of them living 00:05:57.389 --> 00:06:00.170 out, you know, going down that bad path, I said, 00:06:00.250 --> 00:06:06.939 let me just be a light in their lives. It's not 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:11.180 just me. It's a whole village of us. It's a whole 00:06:11.180 --> 00:06:15.500 village of us. My uncles and the president of 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:23.199 Skills to Heal. It took a whole... We just started 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:27.160 doing signature things every year to help the 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:31.899 kids. As they say, it takes a tribe to raise 00:06:31.899 --> 00:06:36.060 a child. I would just say it's wiser. for a tribe 00:06:36.060 --> 00:06:38.420 to raise a child because you've got more perspectives 00:06:38.420 --> 00:06:40.339 that that child's able to learn from and that. 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:42.139 So it's super cool that you've been able to turn 00:06:42.139 --> 00:06:44.180 this into a movement that other people are getting 00:06:44.180 --> 00:06:47.079 involved in as well. I want to double down a 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:50.339 little bit with you on, God is really on my heart 00:06:50.339 --> 00:06:52.839 as he should be, but you bring that out of me, 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:55.899 man. And I really appreciate that. So a story 00:06:55.899 --> 00:06:58.139 that came to mind, I was in what's called the 00:06:58.139 --> 00:06:59.959 mission training center. I was 19 years old. 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:02.959 I was, I was, I was a pretty good kid, but I 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:05.199 had some rough spots. I was lucky to get on that 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:07.680 mission. I was very blessed. And so we lived 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:10.180 this monk lifestyle for a while where we're just 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:12.339 studying, and we're studying prayer, and we're 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:13.879 studying scripture, and we're just getting after 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:17.259 it. And in the heart of thinking through that, 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:19.600 I grew up in a family as well where my dad's 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:25.040 house, alcohol, drugs, pornography, everything 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:27.839 that could have gone on negative in this house, 00:07:27.879 --> 00:07:30.199 abuse of all kinds, not just the house, but also 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:33.170 the extended family. It was rough, man. There 00:07:33.170 --> 00:07:37.170 was a lot of negativity. And so I'm one day meditating, 00:07:37.230 --> 00:07:41.170 praying on the reality of like the mysteries 00:07:41.170 --> 00:07:44.230 of God and why certain things played out the 00:07:44.230 --> 00:07:49.490 way they did. And it was such a strange feeling 00:07:49.490 --> 00:07:51.730 that is so controversial. I don't think I've 00:07:51.730 --> 00:07:55.310 ever talked about it before. But my brother. 00:07:56.029 --> 00:07:58.350 um one of my brothers one of my brothers hates 00:07:58.350 --> 00:07:59.610 this story because he's like jackson they're 00:07:59.610 --> 00:08:01.509 gonna all blame me i was whatever it doesn't 00:08:01.509 --> 00:08:03.990 matter we all learned from our past but my brother 00:08:03.990 --> 00:08:08.329 dove into drugs and uh i never understood that 00:08:08.329 --> 00:08:10.689 and he was second in state you know no i'm sorry 00:08:10.689 --> 00:08:14.149 he was all state golf as a freshman but he's 00:08:14.149 --> 00:08:17.709 he like tapered off and i i kind of judged him 00:08:17.709 --> 00:08:20.629 growing up like man you know drugs took over 00:08:20.629 --> 00:08:22.730 and and kind of ruined his life or whatever but 00:08:23.470 --> 00:08:26.310 as i was spiritually meditating on this derek 00:08:26.310 --> 00:08:29.569 i realized that if i had had to live with my 00:08:29.569 --> 00:08:33.029 dad full time and i had been sober and i was 00:08:33.029 --> 00:08:36.370 i never drank i never got into it i decided never 00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:40.389 to touch it i would kill myself i would not have 00:08:40.389 --> 00:08:45.460 been able to overcome The depression, the hate, 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:49.080 the horrible things that were said and the experiences 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:51.559 that we had, I would have not been able to do 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:54.320 it. And I could see the strange silver lining 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:59.299 of how just maybe that drug was an outlet for 00:08:59.299 --> 00:09:02.299 my brother during a time of his life when nothing 00:09:02.299 --> 00:09:04.980 else was there for him or he was stuck. And he's 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:08.139 a he's an amazing family man now. His kids have 00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:10.299 an amazing life because he shows up and he does 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:12.970 the right things. But it was really weird. And 00:09:12.970 --> 00:09:14.850 I guess I kind of want to open the door for you 00:09:14.850 --> 00:09:16.509 on that because you and I have some different 00:09:16.509 --> 00:09:18.809 background experience with trials and adversities 00:09:18.809 --> 00:09:23.929 and how, I mean, am I wrong about that? Is that 00:09:23.929 --> 00:09:26.690 a warped view of how God works in mysterious 00:09:26.690 --> 00:09:30.690 ways? Or is it possible that these young people 00:09:30.690 --> 00:09:33.750 are stuck in such horrible circumstances where 00:09:33.750 --> 00:09:36.909 they do kind of need a crutch or an escape? And 00:09:36.909 --> 00:09:39.750 we got to do more as a society, not giving them 00:09:39.750 --> 00:09:42.509 drugs, doing more. to help them understand these 00:09:42.509 --> 00:09:44.950 skills, doing more to recognize that their parents 00:09:44.950 --> 00:09:47.049 aren't going to do it for them, doing more to 00:09:47.049 --> 00:09:49.570 recognize that if they're not blessed with those 00:09:49.570 --> 00:09:52.149 realities, we've got to do something to step 00:09:52.149 --> 00:09:55.129 up and help them escape. We can't blame them 00:09:55.129 --> 00:09:56.950 for turning to substance abuse. What are your 00:09:56.950 --> 00:10:02.210 thoughts on that? Substance abuse is a huge thing. 00:10:02.470 --> 00:10:04.809 And I'll say this, I double down on the Lord 00:10:04.809 --> 00:10:08.190 and Savior. I'll say this, and I tell my mentor, 00:10:08.350 --> 00:10:11.759 I tell my mentees this all the time. I say, God 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.480 sends all type of people in our lives. Some good, 00:10:14.620 --> 00:10:16.519 some bad. Some will make you, some will shape 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:19.200 you, some will break you. But in the end, he 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:24.559 sets the stage for where you are right now. Like 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:28.960 you talked about your brother and where he came 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:34.700 from and where he is now. You know, it's a path. 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:38.879 I believe in two paths. You have a path that's 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:43.090 already created for you. Like my daughter. Her 00:10:43.090 --> 00:10:45.590 path is a lot easier because she didn't have 00:10:45.590 --> 00:10:48.450 to walk my path. She didn't see violence. She 00:10:48.450 --> 00:10:52.090 didn't see she didn't see drugs. You know, she 00:10:52.090 --> 00:10:55.549 didn't see gunshots. No, I seen all of that. 00:10:56.009 --> 00:11:00.830 So it's it's the it's the path that we walk down. 00:11:01.029 --> 00:11:05.269 The one that we create. Or the one that we set 00:11:05.269 --> 00:11:09.070 for someone else to walk down a more productive 00:11:09.070 --> 00:11:13.970 path. so they have a more productive life so 00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:16.669 when we approach a young person i'm saying me 00:11:16.669 --> 00:11:21.929 and you hey this path we can walk this way because 00:11:21.929 --> 00:11:24.110 you can create your own path but it's going to 00:11:24.110 --> 00:11:31.629 be a lot more difficult doing it absolutely visionaries 00:11:31.629 --> 00:11:33.549 i hope you double down with us on this topic 00:11:33.549 --> 00:11:37.120 on on aspect of what what can we do to inspire 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:39.440 and to help the next generations rise up they 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:42.440 do have more tools and more power than i think 00:11:42.440 --> 00:11:45.399 we were blessed with in our past yet i think 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:47.299 we haven't we have an awesome opportunity to 00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:49.600 lean in and help them with that this is saying 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:53.340 the pen is mightier than the sword um right and 00:11:53.340 --> 00:11:55.120 what scares me right now about the next generation 00:11:55.120 --> 00:12:00.299 is if that's true and i believe it is ai is like 00:12:00.299 --> 00:12:04.139 giving children a nuclear bomb And so there's 00:12:04.139 --> 00:12:06.840 a really, really important opportunity for us 00:12:06.840 --> 00:12:10.440 to help them use these tools for good. And I 00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:12.100 think we should all lean into that. Derek, thank 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:14.360 you for leading the way that you are. What what 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:18.539 advice do you have from your experience for other 00:12:18.539 --> 00:12:21.279 visionary leaders out there who feel like, man, 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:23.120 I don't have an office. Like you said, it's in 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:26.279 their home or I don't know how to pull this vision 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:28.639 together and make it happen. What's advice you 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:31.460 wish you had received when you first started 00:12:31.460 --> 00:12:39.009 Skills to Hill? the advice that i was i i would 00:12:39.009 --> 00:12:44.830 i would say this walk your path i would say that 00:12:44.830 --> 00:12:50.590 there's a path that's already set for us and 00:12:50.590 --> 00:12:54.250 i will say that never give up it's not about 00:12:54.250 --> 00:13:03.649 what you have it's about where you're going and 00:13:03.649 --> 00:13:08.100 sometimes We have less, but we can do more. So 00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:10.360 it's not about an office or a building. It's 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:12.379 about the impact that you're making on people's 00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:15.379 lives. And I just feel like if you keep doing 00:13:15.379 --> 00:13:18.779 that and doing it at a high level, God always 00:13:18.779 --> 00:13:23.750 going to come through for you. Always. Always. 00:13:23.750 --> 00:13:26.610 I'll second that. Amen. You guys see it. I'm 00:13:26.610 --> 00:13:30.129 down here in Ecuador. I have no idea when the 00:13:30.129 --> 00:13:31.950 Internet will work and when it will not. Yet 00:13:31.950 --> 00:13:34.169 it seems to be stable there. Most of my podcasts. 00:13:35.350 --> 00:13:38.429 I don't I don't try to do anything fancy. I just 00:13:38.429 --> 00:13:40.450 try to go out and serve the next person. And 00:13:40.450 --> 00:13:42.789 when I'm on these podcasts, the next person is 00:13:42.789 --> 00:13:45.730 you. And Derek Anderson is here to do the same 00:13:45.730 --> 00:13:47.750 thing. Thank you, my brother. I really appreciate 00:13:47.750 --> 00:13:50.110 it. For those of you who want to be on the show 00:13:50.110 --> 00:13:51.889 and come share your visions, you can be at the 00:13:51.889 --> 00:13:54.289 beginning stages where you're just incubating 00:13:54.289 --> 00:13:56.190 your vision, or you can be at the stages like 00:13:56.190 --> 00:13:57.750 Derek, where you've been after this for a few 00:13:57.750 --> 00:14:00.230 years and helping people and making impact in 00:14:00.230 --> 00:14:02.350 the lives of the next generation. But there's 00:14:02.350 --> 00:14:04.649 a button in the top right corner. It says, be 00:14:04.649 --> 00:14:07.840 our guest. Click the button. Book your appointment 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:10.320 with our team. Come on. We'll even train you 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.340 up on how to make sure to show up for the show. 00:14:12.580 --> 00:14:14.700 We want more of you to unlock the visions and 00:14:14.700 --> 00:14:18.659 do exactly what Derek said. Walk your path. As 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:22.759 Russell Westbrook says, you do you. So important. 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:24.299 So important for us to embrace that and step 00:14:24.299 --> 00:14:25.820 into it. So, Derek, thanks for being here again, 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:28.279 man. Would you be willing to come back on the 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:31.279 show in the future? Absolutely. Man, I want to 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:32.720 dive in deeper. I want to see what you're up 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:35.440 to and where this is going. So we'll make it 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:37.120 happen. Vision Pros, you guys have a great rest 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:38.679 of your day. We'll see you in the next episode 00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:40.600 of Vision Pros Live. Thank you for being here 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:42.500 today. I'm really happy that you tuned in to 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:44.960 Vision Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:48.000 your reactions as these episodes continue to 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:49.700 move forward. This is going to get more and more 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:52.019 fun. We'll have more and more engagement as well. 00:14:52.059 --> 00:14:53.960 We'll invite people to participate in the show 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:56.159 and thank you for giving us your time and attention. 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:59.080 Have an excellent time building out your vision 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:00.440 and becoming a vision pro yourself.