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This podcast was born from a belief that meaningful growth doesn’t happen overnight. The things that really matter—in life, business, art, relationships—often take time, patience, and unseen investment. And yet, we live in a culture that constantly pulls us toward immediacy: fast food, AI, and overnight success stories.
But the reality is:
Anything truly worth building usually takes time. Success doesn't arrive in an instant.
We take the time to ask our amazing guests, what are the things that are worth putting in the time and investing in, even if we don’t see results for a long time?
6. Lynn - Main Audio_- Loudness
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Speaker 5: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Bamboo Method, investing in the unseen. They say good things come to those who wait. But in a convenience driven world, patients can sometimes feel impossible, but the reality is that anything worth building usually takes time. So we're here to ask what are the things worth putting in the time and investing in, even if we don't see results for a long time?
Today's guest is Lynn Maloney Cabrera, executive Director of Eagle Mount Billings. Lynn has spent her career caring for others. Leading programs for Planned Parenthood and the Alzheimer's Association in both Montana and California, and now building community through adaptive recreation for youth and adults with disabilities, with Eagle Mount in everything.
She leads with tenderness, presence, and intention. In this episode, we talk about what it looks like to give others grace. Stay grounded, and keep showing up in the lives of the people who need it [00:01:00] most.
Speaker 6: Well, Lynn, thank you for being with us today.
Speaker 7: I'm nervous.
Speaker 6: That's okay. I'm not
Speaker 7: nervous.
Speaker 6: No need to be nervous, but that's fine.
If you are, uh, it's gonna be great. We're super excited to have some conversations with you. Yeah. And thinking about the idea of an, you know, investing or nurturing something that takes a long time to see a new result from, what are you nurturing in your personal life?
Speaker 7: Uh, I would say in my personal life, and this is dates back probably 40 years nearly.
Somewhere along the way, as soon as I had my first nephew, I read some place that when kids, I have like 16 nieces and nephews and like another six
Speaker 8: wow
Speaker 7: step or um, great nieces and nephews. Right. Okay. Wow. And so not having my own kids, these have always been my kids. Right. Yeah. And I read somewhere that when, when kids have another adult involved in their lives, not instead of parents, but as well as parents, that they just do so much better.
I thought, okay, I can do that. Right? I can. And, and I was so fortunate. I had a really [00:02:00] dialed in aunt. I had a really dialed in grandpa. Mm. Uh, he died when we were still quite young, but I experienced what it was like to have another adult truly invested in my life. And I thought, I can do that. Um, and so I've just had that opportunity all these years.
And one of my kids who now is, um, a cardiac care nurse up at the hospital, she was about 11, and she said to me. I think I can speak for all the kids when I tell you, we're glad you never had your own kids. Well, thank you for speaking on behalf of everybody, but it's just, it for me has been a source of really great joy.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Um, and now as they've gotten older, you know, they're in their late twenties, thirties, you know, to hear back from them reflected what it's meant for them.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Uh, is what I hoped. Yeah. But, you know, didn't. Didn't bank on, didn't dare expect, or you know what I mean? Just wanted them to live their, their best lives, and I just wanted to be a part of supporting it and encouraging it how I could.
Speaker 6: Yeah. [00:03:00] So now we're on the other side of it where you've seen the fruit. Mm-hmm. Right? Yeah. What was it like when you were. In it, you didn't know how it would play out. Mm-hmm. You didn't know if this was gonna have an impact. First of all, what, what did your relationship with them look like? How often did you hang out with them, engage with them?
What did that look like? Ally,
Speaker 7: there's a lot of them, you know, and
Speaker 6: Sure.
Speaker 7: And, and even still, or let's keep up with Yeah. Yeah. Even still, I have like a different relationship with each one. Right. But even still. I, I, I don't think I like let my foot off the gas on it. Okay. Right. Because even, even though they're adults in, in their adult lives, you know, those stressors and those pressures and you know, having just a safe place to be like.
I don't know. Just, just able to say, you know, I, I worry about this, or This isn't, this isn't playing out. Like, I hope, what do you think? What did you do?
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: You know, and I was like, you know, my experience was mine. If there's a nugget from mine that that would be [00:04:00] beneficial for you, you're welcome to it.
You know, I'm, I'm looking for your life to look like mine or vice versa. Even though I've really encouraged all of them to volunteer more. Again, just knowing how really, really meaningful that's been for me. Um, I think one of the things that that comes to mind for me is that I, early on really was fortunate to, um, be given the gift of faith, you know, and, and throughout my life I've just had so many re reinforcements of that.
And I think, um, you know, the adage that people who grew up in a faith, really, it's when they explore new face and decide for themselves that they own it fully.
Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 7: And so my prayer for all of them is that they arrive at that place. Just knowing what a great bedrock it's been for me. Um, and so without like being overtly like insisting on my faith to them, I just try to live that life.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Right. And again, I think it's through example. Yeah. Um, I ponder, I'm like, do I write love and prayers? Well, I feel love and prayers, so I'm gonna tell them love and prayers. [00:05:00]
Speaker 8: Yeah. You
Speaker 7: know, that can mean to them whatever they need to, but you know what I mean? I'm gonna be that constant.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: You know, and, and then let them decide what they do with it.
Speaker 6: Yeah. I'm curious, how'd you keep up with, you said you have 16. Mm-hmm. How do, I mean like, did you have 'em all over for dinner or what why'd you, what did you do to even spend time with all of them? Especially with it being so many?
Speaker 7: For sure. You know, and I probably some at various points got more of that time and attention.
Probably some needed.
Speaker 6: Sure.
Speaker 7: More time and attention. Yeah. Um, but again, just being really purposeful. I find that, I still do it. I kind of just do like this little mental checklist, like once we go, haven't connected with so and so lately. It might just be a ping, I might just shoot 'em an email or a ridiculous picture or find a picture of them when they were three and be like, Hey, you know what I mean?
You were a cute kid. Yeah. You know? Um, and, and again, I think I, I, I was able to devote more time to certain kids at certain points, depending on their needs. Right. I'll tell you, I was in a not great marriage for 14 years, and that gave me a lot of time. But, um, [00:06:00] no, I just, and so people are like, you're always doing stuff.
I'm like, this, this is my hobby. My family is my hobby. The people I get to serve are my hobby.
Speaker 8: Yeah. You
Speaker 7: know, I'm not gonna like unplug and binge watch something people do. It's cool. Yeah. But you know, it doesn't fill me up in the same way.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: That like writing cards. I write a ton of cards, a lot of notes.
I think that that piece of mail that comes to you that's like, you know, the one you save for last, it's not a bill, it's not a scam, it's not a political thing, it's handwriting on a card. And I love that.
Speaker 6: Who do you write
Speaker 7: notes to? All of them. All the people?
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 7: I have, I, I keep shoe boxes full of cards. I like a happy birthday shoebox.
And a thinking of you and a sympathy and condolence and a, and a thank you. And a, so like, um, my brother gave me a gift certificate to, um, the antique store on 33rd. And it was like a really generous gift certificate. And today I went in and I was a $500 one to start and I had spent all but $44 on [00:07:00]
Speaker 6: cards.
Wow.
Speaker 7: And stamps. But it's, it's, that's amazing.
Speaker 6: It's my heart. How long will that last you?
Speaker 7: Oh, I've been, this has been over 18 months. I've been working my way through those cards. Yeah. They go faster than you think.
Speaker 8: That's,
Speaker 7: yeah. But then people that love me know that that's my love language. And so then they give me cards.
Speaker 8: Yeah. And
Speaker 7: like my nephew will say, I'm sending you these cards, but you can't send them back to me. I'm like, whoa. A lot to keep track of.
Speaker 6: So how did that start? When did you start writing cards like that?
Speaker 7: Um, well, you know, I, I grew up at a time when people wrote letters.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: You know, I mean, I'm not a million years old, but there was, you know, the written word.
Yeah. And of course, and I love the written word. Yeah. I always wanted to be a writer. And so the journalism path was easy. Um, turns out that wasn't where I was meant to be, but that training was good for me. Right. Yeah.
Speaker 6: You think journalism played into that? Gonna school for that, or it didn't hurt? No, I already loved writing Sharp the skills.
Yeah. Because I know a lot of people who grew up in the age of writing letters to Uhhuh, but they don't send me notes, so that's, yeah. So [00:08:00] I'm curious why, what, what was the motivation for, I mean, like, that sounds so special. Like I love what you even said, the one that you leave at the bottom. 'cause you know it's a handwritten, that's the one you
Speaker 5: save.
Speaker 6: Absolutely. It's the one you save and it's the hardest one
Speaker 7: to throw away later, I think. Absolutely.
Speaker 6: I have a box of notes that are like, I'm not gonna throw those away.
Speaker 7: Right.
Speaker 6: Um, yet I don't get any new ones. I don't, I don't know when the last time it was that I added to it
Speaker 7: that you got a note.
Speaker 6: What's that?
Speaker 7: That's sad.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Sad. Well, yeah, I, I think it's a powerful thing to, to get those, but I'm curious. So what, what, uh, yeah. Why, what
Speaker 7: inspired it? What inspired them? Well, let me think back. Okay. My grandparents lived in Canada, uh, the time You didn't make phone calls, right? Especially international calls. Um, and so my grandma would write, it would take forever through their postal service to get a letter here.
But she and I got this back and forth letter writing thing going. I've saved boxes of letters that I've received too. That's a whole different challenge. But in one of them we kept like building on the same letter. It's like 18 pages long. Wow. And of [00:09:00] course the pages are stationary size. It's not like full shades, but, so maybe that was part of it.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Um, I honestly, I guess I must have learned it and probably from my parents. Yeah. Or my grandparents. That's
Speaker 6: cool. Yeah, I love that. I also gotta say, I do get notes from my wife so that there are notes that are, that counts. That definitely counts. That counts. And, and there are, there are some other ones, but I just more so wanted to highlight that.
I think it's a bit of a lost art, and I love that you do that. And I'm sure that's part of the reason why you do it is 'cause it's, it's not a common thing. Right. And so what a special thing for your nieces and nephews, but also I'm sure you send 'em to a lot of people. What a special thing for them to get.
I do love
Speaker 7: notes.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 7: I also am, while well aware that uh, what my handwriting whoa, isn't that legible to people anymore. So it's either I'm write worse, I never wrote well, or they can't read anything but printing. Okay. So knowing that I start out printing. I'm trying to honor that. They can't probably read my handwriting.
Sure. And they'll admit to it. They're like, I had so and so help me. My like the [00:10:00] oldest cousin, he's like, is it cursive? Is that what you're saying? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 6: And cursive is, it's no longer, they don't teach cursive. I
Speaker 7: don't teach it. People really struggle with it. So I try to write and then finally I'm just like, sometimes I was like getting tired of trying to print 'cause I didn't, you know what I mean?
You learn it and then you don't use it ever again. So I'll just write, like, I drew a heart and I drew a smiley face, almost like here. Read my pictures.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Yeah. But it's really sweet too, because I recognize that my kids, my kids write back or will just write out of the blue, you know? And so I'm, I'm pleased that it brings me a lot of joy, so I'm pleased to think that maybe it brings them some measure of joy too.
Speaker 6: Absolutely. It does.
Speaker 7: Yeah. Thanks. Yeah.
Speaker 6: Um, thinking professionally, okay, we're gonna transition to the professional world. What are you investing in or what have you invested in? I had delayed fruit.
Speaker 7: Gosh. It's just ev it's just every day. It's just every day. Mm. You know, the people that we get to [00:11:00] serve, uh, the families that we get to serve, basically all of our partners.
Anybody that calls, it's like I waited table. So it's like a cold call, like every time it's like a cold call, right?
Speaker 8: Mm.
Speaker 7: And you're just like, how can I, what can I do for you? Right. So for me now, and at this stage of my career. Where I've had probably dozens of people work alongside me, or as I developed into positions of leadership, people work with me.
Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 7: Um, a lot of them maybe were younger to start, but I look now at their own careers and I'm like, you are like the lead development officer for this hospital in Orange County. You are the, you know what I mean? And it's, it's really, I don't take credit, but I recognize that along the way. We learned lessons from one another, and if those lessons that they might have picked up from me helped them to accomplish this place of career growth and impact, you know, that, that's gratifying.
I guess that's kind of my hope at this point. Yeah. You know, and I've, you, you certainly don't get to be older and [00:12:00] at this point in your career without. Having done some things that you're like, shoot, I really wish I had a do-over on that. Hmm. So, um, I will say that I, I sort of feel like I've earned that right?
To be like, you know what, this, this is happening at work right now. This is how it feels to, to me and to others, and I don't think you mean to make this impact. You know, I really don't think you wanna show up like this. I think you wanna show up more like somebody that can be counted on somebody who, you know, who genuinely is plugged in when you're here.
And they'll be like, yeah, I do want that. I'm like, okay. So show up like that.
Speaker 8: You
Speaker 7: know, as opposed to like, you're dropping the ball, right? It's just like, I, I learned an expression early on and it stayed with me. It said, be the person you seem to be, be that really,
Speaker 8: you
Speaker 7: know? And so we all kind of have this persona, you know, that we project.
Um, and, you know, I, I suppose we all mean it to be positive or. Caring or whatever. And so to be that really. Yeah. You know, to have that be who you, who genuinely you are.
Speaker 6: Yeah. [00:13:00] So what do you think gets in the way of that for a lot of people?
Speaker 7: Oh, you know, I, I think the notion of, um. I guess I'm thinking back to when you were younger.
You know when you kind of like compare business cards and you're like kind of like, oh, so and so showed up at that thing I should have showed up at thing. Social media doesn't help it, you know, everybody kind of shows you their shiniest self, so I, I think in part it is just kind of that societal competition, what have you that might get in the way of it.
Yeah. You know, and you know, I think over time your priorities shift. And hopefully shift into place, you know, so that you really can focus on what matters and not, you know, not just shiny things. What else would get in the way of it? Of life? Yeah. Life challenges. Illness.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Financial problems. Marriage problems.
Children problems. You know, and I think that too, kind of goes back to the note writing because you know, everyone is dealing with something. You and I talked about that [00:14:00] straight out of the gate. Mm-hmm. Everybody's dealing with something, they don't let it show.
Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 7: You know? But you know, when you know that's happening for somebody and then on social you're like, oh, they look so happy here.
I bet they're hurting. Yeah. You know, a handwritten note to them just thinking of you.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: You know, glad you had that happy time with your family, whatever. You know, just, just seeing people, I think.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: And so that's goes back to your question about like, what do I try to do every day work? I just really try to see people.
Yeah. You know, and just respond to who they are. Um. I've also like talked to the person at the gas station, the person who we do drop off laundry and bring 'em donuts. You know, just do that little extra thing that brings a smile to somebody's face.
Speaker 8: Mm.
Speaker 7: You know, when you leave, it was a moment in your day, but you don't know for their day what it was.
Yeah.
Speaker 6: A lot of intentionality there.
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 6: And being present. Mm-hmm. How do you keep yourself present with just so much going on and I can only imagine how much is truly going on in your world with. Eagle [00:15:00] Mountain, you got 16 nieces and nephews and there's just a lot that could take up your brain space.
Yeah. How do you keep yourself present with what's in front of you?
Speaker 7: Uh, I check myself and literally every day it's, I've done it now for so many years, it's just, it just is rote. I get in my car and I head to work and I just every day pray, Lord, show me the work you call me to do. Show me the life you call me to live.
Show me the people you call me to love, and it just happens and I've got it kind of like on a loop. And then I find myself, like if somebody in traffic is doing something a little crazy. There's a person who at seven 30 in the morning is clearly starting their day from a bunch, you know, a bus bench. You know, I'm just like, Lord, bless them indeed enlarge their territory.
Mm. If you're ham with them, protect them from evil. You know, I just, I just like confetti, but it, it, it helps me also reframe, you know, when I, when I say that little prayer, it might feel like a little toss off prayer, but when I say that little prayer for the person who is not driving great first thing in the morning,
Speaker 8: yeah.
Speaker 7: It changes how I feel about that situation. Right. Just, and so I realized that's actually a gift I'm [00:16:00] giving to myself.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 7: It's a gift the Lord is giving to me.
Speaker 6: You
Speaker 7: know, I don't have,
Speaker 6: it's a shift of perspective. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 7: I don't have to carry that all day. Yeah. I don't never honk. Why, why?
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: I'm sorry.
There are people that are listening who honk, but I just, again, for myself, I, I don't wanna take Aing any of that.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: So I just am constantly trying to kind of reframe it and I do so through this little prayer confetti that I told you about.
Speaker 6: Yeah. I like that. Mm-hmm. What, what would you recommend to, to.
In the culture that's just so distracting and so full, you know, what do we do to continue to move as a culture into being present and shifting into that perspective of seeing other people and knowing that there's a backstory there.
Speaker 7: Oh, all of it. What do we do as a culture? Oh, come on, Sam. That's a big question.
That's a big question to ask me.
Speaker 8: Yes.
Speaker 7: And just speak for myself. Um, I, I think, again, and, and I do this, I get caught up. I look at work, I'm like, oh, I've got six things I'm late to do.
Speaker 8: Yeah,
Speaker 7: right. I always iig this thing and I say, I'm this thing. Yeah. Um, and I [00:17:00] think it's also just stopping, you know, and people meditate.
People are very, um, some people are, are very religious about all of that. Um, and I just like, stop and I'm just like, Lord, just breathe Lynn. And also just to really hold fast. Everything works out.
Speaker 8: Mm,
Speaker 7: everything works out. The Lord's already got. You know, and he, and he tells us this, I know the plans I have for you.
Plans to prosper you and not bring you harm.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Okay, great. I'm still gonna feel anxious about this worker's comp audit or what have you.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: But it's all gonna work out. Yeah. And, and I think I have, I think most of us have sufficient evidence if we just look to it and go, that's right. I saw what you did there.
Yeah. Right. I can lean on this. Hmm. I can lean on that faith, that belief that. Reassurance 'cause it's all worked out. Mm-hmm. To this point, almost never in the way. I anticipate it often better. You know? And if I remember it's not about me, it's about others. And if really what I [00:18:00] want is what's best for others, then it really shifts the focus for me.
Right. Yeah. The person coming, uh, obviously this is happening tomorrow. The person coming to do the workers' comp audit, this is a her job. This person has a life.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: You know, so whatever we discuss, whatever. Whatever comes out of it, it'll be fine. It's just more reports and more paperwork and, and not how I want it to spend the time.
Speaker 8: Sure. It's
Speaker 7: gonna be fine.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: I have the opportunity in this course of this conversation to tell her more about equal mount. Yeah. Yeah. To help her understand maybe the good that happens more than numbers on a page. Yeah.
Speaker 6: Wanted a cool opportunity. That could be for sure that that might use exactly for his purposes.
Speaker 7: Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 6: It can be so easy to get so close to it and just so close to ourselves, uhhuh of like, how inconvenient is this for me?
Speaker 7: Exactly.
Speaker 6: That's a bummer.
Speaker 7: It doesn't make you feel good. No, it doesn't.
Speaker 6: No. And oftentimes it can be very inconvenient.
Speaker 7: Uhhuh. Yeah.
Speaker 6: Um, but a but a place of gratitude and perspective at the big picture.
Exactly. Just help to quickly shift. [00:19:00] Many of those deep places that we can get into
Speaker 7: for sure. Because once you, once you allow yourself to be pulled into that, it just piles on.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 7: You know what I mean? And then you're like, oh, you know, I haven't heard back from so-and-so. What could that mean? Nothing. It means nothing.
It means they're busy and, and themselves got pulled in a different direct. Mm-hmm. Right. So if I just kind of keep my eye on the price mm-hmm. You know, and that's caring about other people. My family, my colleagues, our participants, our volunteers, our community. Yeah. Yeah. I just consider myself really fortunate that the Lord has enlarged my territory to this point.
Speaker 6: Hmm. As a organization, what is Eagle Mount moving towards? What's kind of the investment that Eagle Mount is making to, to keep going in the trajectory that's, it's on?
Speaker 7: Yeah. I think one of our biggest investments, um, right now, Eagle Mount doesn't have a building, a large structure of any sort like that. Um, in part I think that's really a gift because we don't devote money to infrastructure, right?
We are reliant on our community to provide us venue. We golf at Peter yg and we [00:20:00] golf at back nine. We climb at back or steep world. You know, we have re respite retreats at Homewood Suites. I think all of that makes us better suited to be present and at one with the community that helps us in this. But I know our community's better for it, right.
Sorry.
Speaker 8: You good?
Speaker 7: Um, so I think right now the biggest investment that Eagle Mount makes is in our volunteers. By making that investment in our volunteers, we know it's gonna pay dividends in the lives of our participants and in the life of the organization. Eagle Mount now is in this community 38 years.
We have a volunteer who's been with us in active service for over 30 of those years.
Speaker 8: Wow.
Speaker 7: It's not uncommon. We've got participants that we've served almost that entire time. You know, and I really appreciate that Eagle Mount is locally funded, locally governed, so we can be flexible and respond to whatever the needs of the community.
We're not responding to any external forces or pressures or reporting requirements or things like that. So I think the greatest [00:21:00] thing that we can do now, both for the current and future of Eagle Mount, is just to continue to make that investment on our volunteers. Um, we're leaning a little bit more into trauma informed, um, training.
Yeah. 'cause um, one of our programs is our adaptive field trip for all program. It's for youth five to 19, 20 21. As soon as they're out of the VIP program. We serve over 400 students in Billings, public schools, all the special education classrooms and beta classrooms. Um, they're all the Title one schools.
So there are also kids who, many of them come kids older and younger, um, who come from food insecure homes, who come from housing instability.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Um, one of our activities that we do, it's every month we try to take at least as many student groups as we can, so it's classes. Out on an adventure. So it might be bowling trips to the zoo.
There'll be some kids that get to go up skiing with us again. This year we do, um, adventures in Cooking. Um, and when we first did that, we had a group of students, uh, from Riverside and they're, we are setting the [00:22:00] table, we're preparing the food, all this. And they're like kind of, kind of bristled at the, why were we setting a table?
And this one student goes, we don't even have a table. We live at a hotel.
Speaker 8: Mm.
Speaker 7: And so all of that thing just kind of pulls you up short. Mm-hmm. You know? Um. The kids, some of them, many of them come from single family or single parent homes. I think the statistic is 87% of kids with a disability will come from a single family home.
Um, and so, you know, that comes with layers of difficulty. Yeah. You know, caregiving is costly and it's difficult on relationships, you know, and so you can see how that, that number comes to pass. Um, but we've had children who are in foster care. From a February outing to a March outing. They were in a different school, but it wasn't just the school.
Right. It was a different living situation. It was different teachers, different friends, different everything. And the child saw us when we came up and he went to our program director and he said, you were at my last [00:23:00] school. You were my favorite teacher. We're like, well, of course we are. We're taking you bowling.
But the point being made, we ended up being that thread of continuity. So, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 8: I love that.
Speaker 7: It's those kinds of things you're like, you know, and, and so I'll say it, you know, it looks so simple. We're bowling, we're doing cooking. We're, but it's so profound.
Speaker 8: Oh, absolutely. You know, we
Speaker 7: become a part of the fabric of their lives.
Yeah. And so talk about, you know, trees will plant seeds for that. We'll never sit under Oh yeah. These kids will become adults, will become, yeah.
Speaker 6: Yeah. You think about that. Those simple things that, like you said, it can seem so simple. Mm-hmm. Because a lot of people, we overlook it.
Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 6: Like the, what we have access to potentially, you know, for sure.
And from a stability standpoint, but even from a. A capability with how our bodies function and Precisely. And so how society, you have have those, you can just look over it and, and take it for granted. Absolutely. But the simplicity of that is [00:24:00] absolutely incredibly profound. Mm-hmm. That they know I can rely on this Uhhuh, you were there, that and you're there.
I can rely on the fact you're gonna be there. Yeah. When you, me, access to makes my world. It takes it from like, it turns it upside down.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Or flips it from upside down to upside. Uh, yeah. It's just
Speaker 7: world. It's just little. Yeah. Just puts that little foundational piece there. Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. We had a group up skiing and half the group could ski and then the other, and then they had a swap because there was just so many kids.
Speaker 8: Mm.
Speaker 7: Um, and so first this one little guy, probably middle school, um, he wasn't his turn to ski and he was full on pouting. I mean, just full on attitude. And so at that time, the teachers or teachers' assistants that were working with him were just a little annoyed by his behavior. 'cause here it was big day on Red Ledge Mountain and he's showing up kind of like this.
And so when I say we, we meet people where they are, you, you, you just can't assume to know. Right? Yeah, sure. All his posture, all his attitude, all of it looked to be unhappy. [00:25:00]
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 7: So I'm like, well, I need to go do this. I wonder if anybody wants to walk with me. So I asked him if he would walk with me. And so we were walking a little ways.
And I realized his eye kept going up to the bunny hill and there was a girl up on the bunny hill that got to ski with the first group, not his group. We went and got a hot chocolate and he's like, I really like her. I'm like, buddy, now I get it. Mm-hmm. Right. You weren't pouting, you're not having bad behavior.
You are like that girl and she's in the other group.
Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 7: You know, and so it comes back to what we've been talking about. You don't know. You don't know what for people is going on for them, and if you just take a second. Get
Speaker 6: curious.
Speaker 7: Just get Yeah. And just care.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Just
Speaker 7: genuinely care. And don't judge just, gosh, that yeah, that must suck.
Speaker 6: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 7: You know?
Speaker 6: Absolutely.
Speaker 7: So
Speaker 6: I love that.
Speaker 7: I do too. I love that we get to do that.
Speaker 5: Yeah. Uh, I, that comes to mind, uh, for me. Um, the book, uh, unreasonable Hospitality, I don't know if you're familiar with it. Mm-hmm. Um, will g. Uh, he, he was in the restaurant world, but anyway, [00:26:00] he took a very strategic approach to hospitality and one of the, one of his main points is, um, a gracious assumption, I think is what it's called.
Mm-hmm. Gracious assumption. And so someone's late to work instead of, you know, looking at the clock on him. Yeah, yeah. You're late, you're late, you're late. Instead say, Hey, is everything okay? Yeah. And you know, sometimes you do need a dog on people. Oh, I was on my phone. Like, okay, yeah, you can avoid that.
But it's like you never know what's going on with people and maybe they're late because of something and you now have an opportunity to be that light for someone. Be gracious in that moment. And, uh, I just love that intentionality that you bring to those kind of situations. That's cool.
Speaker 7: Thank
Speaker 5: you. Yeah.
Speaker 7: And so all of it I rec recognized has, you know, been given me, you know, I've been given a tremendous amount of grace. I've been given, you know, wonderfully supportive parents. I've been given a lot of challenges from which to learn, you know, and so I feel like it's a gift to me to get to [00:27:00] share that gift with others.
Speaker 6: Yeah. I love that. It was a phrase, uh, John Townsend, he's a, I don't know if you've heard of him, John Townsend. I subscribe to a lot of his leadership and, and material, and he says connection before correction.
Speaker 7: Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 6: I love that. It's like. A gracious assumption. It's the idea we might still have to hold a line of accountability.
Mm-hmm. Let's connect. Before we do that, let's have a gracious assumption. Certainly. 'cause that
Speaker 7: builds rapport,
Speaker 6: builds rapport, uhhuh, and, and you never know.
Speaker 7: You never know. You
Speaker 6: never know. Um, and, uh, building those relationships is just key. That's what we are, right? Mm-hmm. It's so easy to get caught up in what we're doing.
Mm-hmm. And miss what we are. Yep. We're humans. Right. We need connection. And
Speaker 7: all of
Speaker 6: life's really about relationship,
Speaker 7: isn't it? Yeah. But it comes back to, there's no way around
Speaker 6: it. No way around it. Mm-hmm. And it is the key of everything. That's what, that's the main thing that matters. Yeah. Right. Um, it's, it's cool how much you bring everything back to that angle mount.
I love that.
Speaker 7: Mm. Yeah. I mean, feel really fortunate to get to do that.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Awesome. [00:28:00]
Speaker 5: Everyone wade here before we get to the final question. If you like the show so far and wanna hear more, you can support the Bamboo Method on Patreon. There you can listen to the full director's cut of this conversation and help make this show possible.
Speaker 7: Eagle Mount provides opportunities and adaptive recreation for youth and adults with disabilities through a variety of activities including skiing. Cycling, climbing, Eagle Mount, I think is like one of the greatest treasures in our community. And the reason I think that is because it's like the single source of so much joy.
Mm. But it, it's, it's so much more and it's, it's a story best told with pictures, I think.
Speaker 8: Mm.
Speaker 7: You know, because when you look at a picture, we've, we've got a picture of one of our, um, ski volunteers with a young man who is blind.
Speaker 8: Mm.
Speaker 7: And he has on the blind bib, you know, and she has on the guide bib. I mean, you just think in that one picture, if you just break that one picture down, there's so much courage in that.[00:29:00]
Speaker 6: Our final question for you is what are you nurturing that you need to give up?
Speaker 7: Um, okay. Maybe this idealized, um, sense that I should be like more rigorous in my daily exercise and more, you know, that I should just be like more rigorous about a variety of things. Mm. You know what I mean? Kind of like
Speaker 6: you mean example.
Meaning like, uh, higher expectations for yourself? Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 7: Yeah. Like, like I, like I do 25 pushups a day and that's what I do and check, but I'm like, Lynn, there are other parts of your body that would probably also benefit from some exercise.
Speaker 8: Ah.
Speaker 7: Um, I think that I should be more, more like religious.
I say religious like attentive, um, devoted to like writing X amount of cards a day. Well, I don't, I just make a list on running list and then like once a week I sit down and bust 'em all out. So I just, I just think I kind of continue to hold [00:30:00] myself to a slightly higher standard of like who I am and how I am.
Yeah.
Speaker 6: Yeah. It's a tough tension. I
Speaker 7: know,
Speaker 6: especially with what you said earlier saying show up. Be who you seem to be. Yeah. Is that right?
Speaker 7: Yeah. Who you are. Yeah. Be who you seem to be. And
Speaker 6: um, but then out of that can come these expectations that are unrealistic and maybe not necessary
Speaker 7: and not helpful. You're thinking, I should quit doing that.
Speaker 6: Uh, well, I'm not gonna tell you what you need to do.
Speaker 7: I'm glad we had this chance to talk,
Speaker 6: but that could be helpful.
Speaker 7: It could be helpful. Yeah. There's a, I've given myself a pass on some of that.
Speaker 6: There's a term that, um, again, John Townsend talks about, it's called integration.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 6: The idea that leaders commonly have this idea of all or nothing, right?
Mm-hmm. I'm just, if it's not perfect mm-hmm. Not giving it all, then it's, shouldn't even, don't even do like, shouldn't even do it. Like what's the point?
Speaker 8: Right?
Speaker 6: Um, which obviously you're maybe not quite to that level. You're doing something, but, but it's this pursuit of perfection. If we don't hit it, it's not good enough.
Right. When might [00:31:00] be good enough,
Speaker 7: right? That good enough is good enough.
Speaker 6: Good enough is good enough. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And perfection
Speaker 7: is. Like the enemy of good, right? Indeed. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Speaker 6: Because, because your pursuit of it can squash what could be good enough,
Speaker 7: right. And ruin the good that that yeah. That you've created.
Speaker 6: Is that what you're referring to, this idea of integrating this that is good enough?
Speaker 7: Yes, possibly. Yes. Oh yes. 'cause I'm always like, I could do that better. I could show up more.
Speaker 6: Yeah. What, what is that in your head? What's going on when you're thinking should do more? I need to do more. What's wrong with not doing more?
Speaker 7: What's wrong with not doing more? Letting people down? Mm. Yeah. I hate the idea of letting people down. Mm. Mm-hmm. Not being present for them. But again, I'm the one that in my mind, has sort of defined what the standard is. Yeah. And their standard may be different. Chances are good is different than what I've decided.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Mm-hmm. That's a tough one though.
Speaker 7: Yeah, it is.
Speaker 6: Yeah. How do you get yourself outta that perspective? [00:32:00]
Speaker 7: Hmm. Pray about it. Yeah. This Lord. Again, lead me where you need me. Right? Yeah. And, and to recognize that, that to a certain extent, that kind of loop, that kind of spin, you know, that, that I can put myself in is.
It's really, um, not productive. It's not grateful, you know what I mean? It's just, it's really kind of a, like a trap, right? Yeah. So to just be really aware, I think that it happens. Yeah. And be like, okay, knock that, knock that shit off. Yeah. Just be real.
Speaker 6: Yeah. It's very performative, right? Mm-hmm. Thinking that all the relationships, you're like, they're expecting something from you.
Speaker 7: Um, not that they're expecting necessarily, but that I. I wanna deliver for them. Right. Yeah. So I don't think that they do come with a set of expectations, but, but mm-hmm.
Speaker 6: But you're putting that expectation there. I am. Yeah. For sure. Absolutely. Yeah,
Speaker 7: because I don't wanna let people down.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Well, I mean, it sounds like you're a fantastic aunt.
Speaker 7: I love
Speaker 6: being a man. You could be my aunt. You [00:33:00] know, like that sounds like they get a treat of having you as an aunt have for their life. So I can't imagine anyone's let down. It's easy. I know.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 6: For anyone in that position, so easy to just think we're letting people down Uhhuh.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 6: I could be such a common narrative where
Speaker 7: the deficiencies are
Speaker 6: absolutely uhhuh.
Um, does that, does that come in into work play at
Speaker 7: all?
Speaker 6: Sure. Sure. How does that play out? Oh, sure,
Speaker 7: sure. Same for sure. Same. Same. You know, because I have, yeah. I have like really high expectations Yeah. For myself and I also feel a real sense of obligation, not in any sort of negative way. Yeah. But there is so much.
Yeah. There's so much more that we could be doing
Speaker 8: uhhuh,
Speaker 7: so you know what I mean? And so it's like, okay, you can't do it at all. You wouldn't be doing it all on your own anyway. You know? That's the thing I'm really mindful to remind myself, this is a non lin.
Speaker 8: Mm-hmm. This
Speaker 7: is, these things happen and things.
Succeed and things sustain because it's a collective of us who care and, and everybody brings their own strengths, their own experiences, knowledge, caring. So I, [00:34:00] it is just, I think, something to be mindful of, you know, that there's a little quicksand to it. Mm-hmm. You know, and just, I just can't let myself just kind of get pulled into it.
Speaker 8: Yeah. I have to,
Speaker 7: you know, keep my eyes up. I'll do that on the way home. My drive now has me going up Shiloh at the end of the day. I realize you can look ahead. I mean, you have to look a little ahead. 'cause there's cars,
Speaker 6: it's recommended,
Speaker 7: but if you look up, you see the rims, you know what I mean? Yeah. And it's like, thank you Lord, that this is my view coming home from work.
Right. I get, I get to look at this and oftentimes the sun is just setting on it and it's, I think it's just looking up constantly.
Speaker 6: I love that. So if anyone is wanting to engage or support Yes. Do any, any sort of actionable step for Eagle Mount? What, what are your needs? What's, what's the best way to support Eagle Mountain?
Speaker 7: Uh, outstanding. Uh, so Jonah Freal, who is on our board, recently coined this great. Hello Jonah. Hello Jonah. If you're listening. He coined this great little expression, um, [00:35:00] about ways that people can get involved. And it says, go, give, serve, share. And so go, come to a program if you would benefit from our programs.
Come to a program, right? Tell somebody about our programs. Give, obviously we are a local supported nonprofit. Families pay what they can. Many pay very little, some pay more. It's uh, donor support, grant support. We have no state or federal funding, so it's our community that supports us.
Speaker 8: Yeah,
Speaker 7: we do have a year-end giving campaign dollar for dollar gifts.
Up through the end of the calendar year, we'll be matched up to $50,000.
Speaker 8: Okay.
Speaker 7: So that's an awesome way for people to maybe make a yearend gift that's gonna have twice the impact. Uh, go, give, serve, obviously get involved as a volunteer. Uh, it's a gift to give yourself, you know, and then share, because I said from the outset, Eagle Mount is such a, like a treasure, like a secret in our community.
Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 7: And I think when people do learn about it, they're like, oh my gosh, it's been almost 40 years. How did I not know?
Speaker 8: Yeah. [00:36:00]
Speaker 7: You know what I mean? So I think by sharing the story of Eagle Mount, the, the magic of Eagle Mount. Yeah. Uh, it's a gift you, you can give to others. Yeah. Um, and you just go to our website, eagle mount billings.org or call our office.
6 9 6 9 2 9 4 9.
Speaker 6: Awesome.
Speaker 7: Tell a friend.
Speaker 6: I love that.
Speaker 7: Oh, and then we have a ton of pictures on our social media. Okay. So I say for daily doses of joy, follow us there.
Speaker 6: Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. Uh, Eagle Mount Billings. Is that the handle or what's the handle? Yeah,
Speaker 7: essentially it's like Discover Eagle Mount or something.
But if they put Eagle Mount Billings, it'll come up. Okay. Yeah. Eagle
Speaker 5: Mount Billings on Instagram and Facebook. All right, there you
Speaker 7: go. Well done. There you have it. And then right now, in partnership with Access Billings and the, uh, family services, we're doing a food drive. Oh, great. So lot of families that we serve, of course are, you know, kind of living on a thin margin, but there's our whole community is, yeah.
Yeah, so we've had a nice response to that.
Speaker 6: I love that. Thank you so much.
Speaker 7: Oh, it's a pleasure, Sam. Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 6: We really appreciate you taking the time to be here today, Lynn, and it was just such a joy talking with you today and hearing about your [00:37:00] world as well as Eco Mount. Uh,
Speaker 7: thank you. Thank you both Sam and Wade.
It's a pleasure to get a share. Yeah, thanks.
Speaker 5: Thanks for listening to the Bamboo Method. Investing in the unseen. Remember, anything worth building usually takes time. And here's a sneak peek from the next episode. Work can feel so personal. Yeah. And it can be a reflection of me. If you don't
Speaker 6: like my work, you don't like
Speaker 5: me. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. And it can feel so personal.
Especially in creative fields,
Speaker 6: what are, uh, the things that play into the perfectionism?
Speaker 5: Oh gosh. Yeah. Um, what's the relationship with your mom like? Yeah. Or your, your dad. Yeah.
Speaker 6: The joke's not about Wade's mom. No, no. Let's be clear about that. Or his dad. Just,
Speaker 5: just psychology in general.