Chris Grainger: 1:43

Welcome to the Lion Within Us, the podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be. I'm your host, Chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, fellas, this is fun Friday member spotlight time. I cannot wait to get into it. But before we go too far, our scripture of the week this week is in the book of Job. First chapter, eighth verse, it says, The Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? There's no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. So, fellas, I took some time to unpack that verse at length in our scripture kickoff episode. Go back and listen to that. Then I had Pastor Craig Thompson on. That was a lot of fun. And now, fellas, getting ready to introduce one of my just dearest friends within the lions, guys. And also remember, we have our daily spiritual kickoff, Monday through Friday, thelionwithin.us, is how you get connected with that. So let's get right into it with our member Spotlight. And this week we are bringing in my brother Rob Williams. So, Rob, what is going on, man?

Rob Williams: 2:39

Well, first of all, thank you for having me. It's uh I've been looking forward to this and uh appreciate you just as much and more than I think you appreciate me. We're becoming fast friends on uh a serious mission to uh help men around the world. You know, it kind of started on a local thing, and and now we're seeing people show up from different continents. It's a lot of fun.

Chris Grainger: 3:04

It's been incredible what what guy's been doing, and I just feel like our paths crossed and we just clicked, and and now you're you're just a dear friend or dear brother, and I'm just so thankful to have you, you know, just just to know you first and foremost, and and maybe kind of get to let our listeners know a little bit about you, Rob. Tell them a little about your testimony and your background.

Rob Williams: 3:25

Well, so here's my story. I'm a I'm a six-year-old man. I live in Vancouver, Washington, although I'm in Scottsdale, Arizona with my oldest son, and today's his birthday. So shout out to Logan. He's 28 today. He's my oldest of three. I also have twin sons that uh are 26 that live with my wife and I in Vancouver, Washington. And uh wonderful boys. They're autistic, nonverbal, so they require a bit more attention, certainly than Logan does, and and we're thankful for all three of them. And uh been married. It'll be 30 years this coming August, praise the Lord, and uh bless my wife. She has put up with a lot over the years. But uh a little bit more about me, I was born in Nebraska, but raised primarily in Oregon, went to uh grade school and high school in Portland, then went to Oregon State, uh, got my master's at University of Portland and had bounced around a little bit, lived in Portland, Seattle, uh, worked in the Chicago area, living in Wisconsin for a few years, and then been back in the Northwest now for about 20 years. And so professionally, spent most of my life uh as an executive building people and building businesses. Uh, a couple of the companies that you know I worked with were purchased by Fortune 500s, and so now I'm kind of turning a new chapter of my life right now and pouring into helping Chris with the lion and helping other friends with some nonprofits and all those good things. So yeah.

Chris Grainger: 5:02

Amen, brother. Now, how about your faith journey? Did you grow up in the church?

Rob Williams: 5:07

You know, I didn't. Uh, it's interesting. My mom, uh when I was young, would drop me off at church. And I'm gonna say young, I'm like five years old, six years old, right? But my my parents were not, I would call, you know, overt professors of the faith, but they they did at least drop me off at church. And um, so I got in, you know, uh a little bit of a taste of that when I was young. Most of my family, I would say, has not been professed Christians, but fortunately, uh my wife is, and like a lot of people do, I kind of bounced in and out of faith. Um you know, saw some of the hook hypocrisy that you tend to see where people are Christians on Sundays and doing something very different during the week, or weekends, particularly when I was in college. Uh, and so I stepped away from the faith for a while. But when I met my wife in 1994, um she she was a Christian and she was all about it, and uh thankfully she she brought me back there. Um so yeah, I have been baptized. I I'm a believer in Christ, and I've got a lot of work to do there, and that kind of is is part of the story of what led me to the lion, that and and uh our mutual friend Buck Jacobs, and hopefully some of these listeners will know Buck. And if you don't, you should, because he's one of the finest Christian men I've ever met. Very dedicated, very humble, very smart, and has uh really given a lot back to society, uh, whether it be um to Christian business owners uh or to even the secular world through his writings and encouragement. He's just a wonderful man. And unfortunately, because of him, Chris and I got to meet, and uh I gravitated to the lion within. Honestly, Chris, because and I've told you this because of what I heard, what I saw going through the website, listening to some of your podcasts, listening to your content, it just it quickly resonated, and then started seeing uh your content showing up on the UVersion Bible app, which has been wonderful. And uh so there's some of my backstory. But as it relates to, you know, being a man of faith, I think like most men, I got a lot of work to do, and uh, we'll dive into that a little bit deeper, I'm sure, on this call.

Chris Grainger: 7:40

Yeah.

Rob Williams: 7:40

But you know, that's what the lion's all about.

Chris Grainger: 7:43

Amen, Rob. And I'm so thankful for Buck. I mean, Buck, I don't know if I ever if I told you how I've met Buck. It was it was kind of interesting. He did one of the Bible plans on the Bible app and reached out to me via email. I didn't know who he was. I it was just another from to me, it was just another meeting on my calendar. And uh, but then I had a another friend who was at part of the line. His name is Wayne. He was like, Who is this you're senior meeting with? I'm like, some kind of named Buck. He's like, What's his last name? I told him he was like, You better get ready for this meeting. I was like, Okay. So, and it's just been he's been a blessing, and we meet every week, and uh he's just pouring into this, and and you know, so and obviously you guys have a friendship as well, so that's been pretty incredible.

Rob Williams: 8:29

Uh I'm I I feel so fortunate for that too, on so many fronts. And he just has a way of lifting you up, he has a way of helping you get through and navigating, you know, the challenges that life deals all of us, right? Yeah. And uh for those of uh, and we're gonna get into the mastermind too, but for those of us that are in the business world, particularly leaders in business, he wrote, I think, one of the most underrated but most uh important works on faith in work and A Light Shines Bright in Babylon. And if you have not read that book, if you're a a business leader, a CEO, a business owner, it is a must. It's not a long book, but it's one of those things where I literally burned through a highlighter going through it. I would have been better off on what didn't I highlight.

Chris Grainger: 9:24

Yeah.

Rob Williams: 9:24

It's just that good. It's just that good. And I've given I don't know how many copies to uh friends of mine who are entrepreneurs, who are running businesses, who are executives and companies, etc. So yeah.

Chris Grainger: 9:40

So cheers to Buck. That's it. Hopefully he's gonna listen. I will have to make sure he listens to this episode, you know. He's a wonderful soul. Well, one thing you've helped me with a lot, and we started our masterminds up, and and you've come in, you've you're in a mastermind, but you've also helped me understand where we can improve, how things can get better, how can we serve, how can we make this elite, and just maybe what what led you to the mastermind and what what kind of give the guys out there who were when they hear the word mastermind, they immediately say, Oh, well, uh, that's not for me. Like, what can you just kind of break that down for them?

Rob Williams: 10:15

Well, for sure. I mean, what intrigued me with the mastermind is, you know, I guess I'm far enough along in life and and far enough along in you know my professional career that I just understand um you can get better faster and contribute more in a community of like-minded people. And so the mastermind at the Lion Within, while it's it's somewhat young and developing, if you will, it it's just spectacular because it touches not only on the professional world, but the personal world, and you get the judgment-free counsel of like-minded men that can help you navigate whatever the challenge might be. And some of them are personal, guys are going through some personal things, but that of course affects your profession, right? Yeah, and and I think that's incredible. And you know, the other thing is I was kind of preparing for today, I thought about this. And whether you're coming into the lion to just check it out, you're coming into the lion's den, maybe getting a bit more content, or you're coming into the mastermind. Most people show up somewhere to get something, right? To get something. But what I've found with the lion is not only do you get, but you get a real chance to give. And that's what I love. I mean, I just love improving lives, not just my own, but others. And so the mastermind group takes it to a whole nother level where you've got, you know, six, seven like-minded men that are committed to uh to use the phrase iron sharpening iron. It's it's let's get better. And, you know, as I've said to you, Chris, we kind of live in this wheel of all these different things that make up the spokes of our wheel, and they're never in round. You know, you're doing really well in one area, but not so well in the other. And so how do you keep yourself growing spiritually as a man and as a leader? And that's what this group's committed to doing, right? And again, there's an old expression that success leaves clues. And, you know, one of the one of the big clues is you you can try it on your own, and you may have some success, but it just never compares to the power of community. Period. Period. There's just too much history around that. And whether it's the accountability piece, the encouragement, encouragement piece, the inspiration, the motivation, uh, whatever, you you just tend to uh do a lot better, right?

Chris Grainger: 13:01

Right. 100%. Yeah. I mean that that accountability, that community component is is huge. And I know for you, I'm super curious the impact that you've seen, maybe you've seen in others if personal impact. What comes to mind there?

Rob Williams: 13:16

Well, here's what I would say. You know, I come into the line, didn't know anybody but you, and now I know a lot of people. I didn't know anybody in the mastermind. And since that time, I've developed relationships with not only groups in my mastermind or people in my mastermind, but others, but very specifically in my mastermind. I mean, I'm having personal calls with guys, texting, you know, sharing ideas, uh, helping pray for men. I'm down here in Scottsdale, and Johnny, one of the guys in my group, lives not far away. So I think we may be going on a hike on Sunday. Wow. And these, yeah, so these things don't happen if you don't get there. Stephen, who's been one of the leaders of the mastermind, he and I uh have a call, if not weekly, every other week, and we're just going through things, you know, again, trying to improve each other's lives and not trying to, we're committed to it. And uh, and those things would not happen uh had I not joined the lion and gotten into this mastermind group.

Chris Grainger: 14:23

Right, right. Man, that's that's so great, man. I didn't know you and Johnny were going for a hike. That's incredible. So that I love to hear little stories like that because that that's just to me, that's just little god nods of like this stuff is working.

Rob Williams: 14:35

100%. Yeah, and he's such a good guy, and and so we're just navigating each other's schedules, but we'll get together while I'm down here one way or another, if not once, more than once. But uh I'm looking forward to that. And you think about it, you know, just a few short months ago, I didn't even know who he was. Right. That's right. Right. And now I find out what a great man he is, what a committed man he is, how fortunate his family is to have him and what he's showing when they're not looking to improve the quality of his life, his commitment to the Lord. I mean, it's it's inspiring.

Chris Grainger: 15:11

Yeah. 100%. 100%. What do you think for when the guys are in the group, what do you think the hardest part is for him at times?

Rob Williams: 15:21

Oh, that's easy. I think it's just opening up. Yeah. I mean, I think I think you know, some people I'm I fall into that category. I'm typically a pretty private person. Uh, you know, I certainly don't like to unveil a lot of baggage on folks, and I guess part of that is uh, you know, personal. Some of it is I I realize that uh uh others are also going through a lot. But the flip side of this is is once you realize you're with men that aren't here to judge you, they're here to um uh truly lift you up, help you, and go along your journey with you, it becomes a little easier to uh open up about your story. And again, to be clear, Chris, everybody's got their challenges. You know, some of us are navigating several at a time, right? That that are pretty life-altering and life-changing. And um with that, it it's just nice to have a group of like-minded men that uh are along with you, right? And so I I you know, I encourage guys that once you get into this, as you can open up and you're comfortable and you see that men are truly here for you in in the name of Christ, and not here to judge you or something like that, it you're gonna find it empowering. I mean, it really is. I get off these mastermind calls and I kind of don't want them to end. Yeah. Because of just a lot of momentum, a lot of goodness, um, a lot of creativity and and uh intentional thought. So there you go.

Chris Grainger: 17:06

And now we have a system that we've rolled out with the application highly, you know, from your feedback and your your support and your counsel. So now we're we're taking accountability to the next level. So just had you know, a public thank you, first of all, to you for for bringing these things up. And now we're I'm so excited to see how guys lean in and hopefully take this to the next level, you know.

Rob Williams: 17:28

Well, and also a huge thanks to Steven and others that are actually, you know, he he kind of brought it to us, but the the tool that we're gonna be using in the mastermind, and there will be more coming on on that. But the the bottom line is this, and you know, for those that are listening, what I had shared with Chris is so there's a cost to come into the mastermind mastermind. And and and again, it's not an expense, it's an investment. But when you invest in something, you kind of want to know what you're gonna get in return. And so part of that is how are we measuring success? And historically in the Lion Mastermind, we weren't really doing that. We might have a goal or a challenge or something or navigating, but you know, somebody people generally want to know what value they're getting when they're investing or putting money in something. Right. And I'm just convinced that a dollar put in the mastermind is is going to get you 10x or more in life value. And there's lots of ways I can demonstrate that. But the nice thing about this new tool that we're implementing is it kind of keeps you on track, lets you know if you're falling behind your commitments, and um because we want people to achieve, right? Right.

Chris Grainger: 18:44

100%. And what do you think? You know, maybe it's mastermind, but it also could just be the lion in general. I know you're a big, you love the daily spiritual kickoff, you come to a lot of our events. When do you just look at the the ways the lion has has impacted your walk with Christ? You know, what comes to mind?

Rob Williams: 19:02

Oh, that's a big loaded question, Chris, and it's a good one. Here's what I would say. You you get out of it what you put into it. And you know, I get the good fortune, uh, thankful for Chris for doing this. As guys come into the group, uh, I get to call a lot of them. And in those conversations, I I tell them all the same thing. Hey, listen, the the more you put into it, the more you're gonna get out of it. And that there is a massive, massive amount of content. And my hat's off to you and the guys for you know the amount of content that you've put out there for the last four years. But there really aren't any excuses because there's live events, and if you can't make the live events, there's recorded events, there's devotionals, there's courses that are very specific around leadership, around finances, etc. There's so much there to improve your faith in the Lord. And then the other one, and this was kind of a surprise for me, honestly, and I spend a lot of time there, is there just a lot of guys coming in with prayer requests for themselves, for their friends, for their families. And man, we have a lot of spiritual warriors on this team that are just they're in the waiting for those messages to come in and jump in all over it. And the results coming out of it at a minimum are peace for the guy that's requesting it, number one. And he knows that he's got uh, you know, an army behind him, so to speak. Um, but you know, Chris, they're just so much at the lion, and and my hope and my prayer is that the word continues to go out because as men are finding it, the feedback is wonderful.

Chris Grainger: 21:04

And thank you for those kind words, Rob. There's guys listening right now that listen to the Lion podcast, they they they're reading the Bible, the devotions on the Bible app, and we want them to do all those things, but maybe they're on the fence. They haven't come to the daily SKO, they haven't joined the Lions Den, they haven't put an application for a mastermind or signed up for a live event. What would be your message to that guy?

Rob Williams: 21:29

Well, I'd I would say listen, try it out. Try it out. You know, the nice thing about the daily SKO is they generally are happening, you know, every weekday. Around 8, 8:15 Eastern, which is early my time because I'm on the West Coast, but I do make several of them live at five in the morning. And the good news is, is if I don't make them live, they're recorded. So that message is there. And if you know Chris is going through a certain run of scriptures, like he just went through Ephesians, you can stay in sequence. You don't have to miss it, right? And so that continuity is there. And uh I think a lot of guys feel like, oh, if I miss a day or two or three men, I've blown it all, and then they leave. Well, that's not the case. And so if you come in and you um engage in the content, engage with some of the men, share your heart and pray with some folks. And if you need prayer, ask for it. These things are only going to improve your life. There is no ulterior motive, they're only going to improve your life. And the truth of the matter is, and I hear this time and time and time again. And I'm not trying to put wind in the sails of the lion necessarily. It's just I'm telling you because I hear it on the regular. I haven't found anything else like this. I'm really glad I found this because I just haven't found anything else like this. And so I think it gives guys peace, it gives guys hope, it gives guys encouragement. It certainly gives guys an opportunity to uh share in return. And we've seen new guys coming in, uh, you know, engaging and getting in groups and in the prayer requests and having one-on-one calls on the side, right? So yeah, it's wonderful.

Chris Grainger: 23:24

Amen, brother. Well, it's it's wonderful because of men like you, and I'm just blessed and that God connected us, and obviously your story is is inspirational, and you know, I just uh just thank you so much for all you do for the lion, Rob.

Rob Williams: 23:40

Well, uh hey, listen, the pleasure is mine, and uh, you know, I want to make sure too, while we're on this call, that that folks understand what the lion's about. And, you know, Chris, you maybe you can touch on it, but you wrote a wonderful book that really outlines everything in the lion. And I realize not everybody likes to read necessarily, but that's on audible, I know, because I listened to it on audible.

Chris Grainger: 24:05

There you go.

Rob Williams: 24:06

And and that's something that you can do in snippets, right? While you're driving, beginning of your day, you're out on a walk, you can listen to it. But if if you want to understand what we believe the tenets are to be a strong leader personally with your family, at work, in the community, and those areas of responsibility that you have, but also how to shore all of those up, it's there. Then all of that content is just compounded uh at the line within us, right? Uh the you know, the website and in the groups, etc.

Chris Grainger: 24:49

And thank you for that. Yeah, guys, go to get get a copy, unleashing the line within. As Rob mentioned, it's on Audible. There's an ebook version as well for you guys who like to do Kindles and things like that, and then you can get a printed version too. So so uh Rob, this has been so I'm just thankful again for you and for sharing your testimony and coming on. I got a couple things before at as at the end here. Uh, we always do a book of the week. You already plugged the lion book, but the the book for our for our guest this week is uh actually fighting. It's I I love this cover. It's it's uh called Fighting for Your Family, and it's got width, but he got he he crossed that out with the X. So my buddy Craig Thompson wrote this book, is a really good resource for you guys. So check that one out. And uh, and Rob, I got two dad jokes I want to run by you, man. I'm gonna see if this if either one of them gets you going, okay. All right. So the first one is what did one slice of bread say to the other slice before the race? Any ideas? That's Harry. Your toast. That's it. There you go.

Rob Williams: 25:54

Oh, that's gonna be tough to beat.

Chris Grainger: 25:56

That's tough to beat. That's right.

Rob Williams: 25:57

That's gonna be a tough one to beat.

Chris Grainger: 25:59

All right. The second one is I went to the aquarium this weekend, Rob, and I didn't stay too long. You don't know why? Because there was something fishy about that place, man. You know. Oh. This week it may be a tie. I like them both.

Rob Williams: 26:20

You can't go wrong with either of those.

Chris Grainger: 26:22

That's it. That's it. So use those. Yeah, use them, fellas. Which what was one slice of bread say to the other before the race? That he said it's your toast. And the second one was I went to the aquarium this weekend but didn't stay long. There was something fishy about that place. So again, let us know which one you like best, fellas. Wonderful. Question of the week, guys, is what which area of your life is competing with God for first place? And fellas, uh, if there is an area that's competing with him, you better surrender it. And then we can help you with that at the lion for sure. Just a place just to talk about these, these, these hard things that quite frankly, just it's hard to find places to have these conversations. So check it out. Everything Rob mentioned from the mastermind to the Lions within to the daily SKO to the Bible app, all can be found at thelionwithin.us. If you want to get in a mastermind and be able to talk with incredible people like Rob, you can put in your assessment. That's the first step. Get the assessment done and we can come, we can talk from there. So, Rob, it's been an honor, brother. Anything else you'd like to share before we wrap up?

Rob Williams: 27:20

Well, just again, I want to thank you. You know, bless you, bless the lion, bless your family, uh, Becca and everybody that support you as you're doing this. And uh if anybody shows up at uh the retreat in April, you can sign their copy of the book. How's that?

Chris Grainger: 27:37

There you go. There we go. We can we can personalize that. So, Rob, it's just been great. Enjoy the day with your son, enjoy your weekend, you know, all the fun stuff you got with family. And uh thank you so much again for hanging out with us today, buddy. Thanks for having me. All right, guys. Well, keep listening, keep hanging out with us. The LionWithin.us is where you can find all our resources. Have a great weekend, get after it, and just keep unleashing the Lion Within. If there's one habit that can change a home, it's this when a husband prays with his wife, not because it's a magic formula, but because it recenters your marriage under God's authority and care. And let's be honest, a lot of guys want to do it, but most don't know how to start without it feeling awkward. Maybe you tried it before and it felt forced, or maybe you've never tried it because you don't even know what to say. Or maybe you're thinking, man, I'm not a pastor, I'm just a guy. And that's why we created this guide. It's our how to pray with your wife. Simple guide. It's biblical, it's practical, and it's designed to help you start praying with your wife in a way that actually feels natural. So it's a five-section guide and it gives you a simple framework to get started. Okay, it makes sure everything is grounded in scripture and it also has a powerful PDF that you can pull up whenever you need, especially when things get off, because they're gonna get off. That's normal. So this is all about reclaiming your marriage and reclaiming the spiritual leadership reigns of your home because praying with your wife is one of the strongest ways to fight for unity, to build trust, and to right the ship when life starts to pull you off a course. So if you're ready, get access today at the lionwithin.us slash guides. That's the lionwithin at us slash guides, and start unleashing the line within at home by leading your marriage through prayer.