Meeting Dave Watson

Chris Grainger 1:43

Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian man who are hungry to be the leaders, God intends you to be. I'm your host, Chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, boys. This is your front your Friday member spotlight. Let's get into it. So our scripture of the week, though, before we go any further, 2 Timothy 2.2. It's a lot of twos right there. It says the things which you have heard from me in the presence of me witnesses and trustees to faithful men who will be able to teach others also, fellas. So I'll unpack that verse in our SKO episode this week. Go back and check that one out. And hopefully, if you guys enjoy the SKOs, we do them Monday through Friday at the Lion Within Us. And that thing is growing like gangbusters, guys. So it's a great way to plug in to kind of see what The Lion Within Us is all about. It's free. It also gives you access to our prayer quest space, guys, where we're doing prayers all the time. And we have a weekly prayer call as well. So the lionwithin.us is already checked that out. From this episode, we got a member spotlight. This is a member that's been with us for a long time. So I'm excited to welcome in Dave Watson. Dave, what's going on, brother? What's up, my man? Thanks for having me. Oh man, I'm so excited to have you here, bud. How are you doing today?

Dave Watt 2:49

Doing great, doing great. We're uh, you know, the swings of uh spring, you know. We got uh we've got uh two young kids that keep us busy and busy at church and with work, and uh it's just a busy season, but all good. Loving loving life. How are you?

Growing Up And Choosing The Mountains

Chris Grainger 3:06

Yeah, man, same, same here. We're getting ready to start T ball up. So uh I got that coming up here in a few weeks. So that's gonna be the spring, it's gonna always take we're at a ball field somewhere. So uh but no, man, I love for for our listeners to kind of get to know a little bit about you by your testimony. So kind of share a little bit about yourself, where you're from, family, that kind of stuff.

Boats Travel And Building A New Life

Dave Watt 3:31

Sure. So um grew up in Canada, um in the east coast, so just outside of Toronto, small little, small little town, one blinking light type of thing. And um my parents uh was raised with uh mom and dad. They split up when I was about in sixth grade, so we moved. Um my parents were about 20 minutes apart. Um, but small town Ontario, Canada, uh, you know, middle class upbringing, you know, great, great life, really. And um, but always had it kind of had the urge to get out and see the world. So um, you know, we traveled a little bit as a kid, but I I grew up skiing, you know, growing up in Canada, everyone played hockey. My parents were school teachers, and as you know, hockey equipment is very expensive for a growing boy, and so is skiing equipment. So my parents gave me choice, you know, you could play hockey or go skiing. So I chose skiing, and that became kind of part of my life. You know, we were skiing at the hill, you know, three nights a week after school, all day on weekends. Parents used to drop us off in the morning, pick us up in the afternoon, and that was just kind of like my freedom. So really became kind of the anchor of my life growing up. Um, school, not so much. So I told my mom, you know, when I graduated, you know, I want to do one year. My dream was to go work in the mountains, work at a ski resort, and I promised her I would come back and go to college, being that she was a principal of uh elementary school. And uh so I left um that first fall after senior year of high school, and uh drove out west and got my very first job working in Lake Louise at a ski resort doing lifty work and everything, and uh had the time of my life, you know, skied every day, made some great memories and great friendships, and uh came home that summer, did landscaping in the summertime, and kind of decided, you know what, school's not for me, and broke it to my mom, it's time to go back. So I moved right back to the mountains and then really never came home again. So I kind of got really into that lifestyle. We were skiing and having a great time, traveling around, just meeting people from all over the world, and that kind of really started my got my taste going for wanting to travel and experience life. Um so yeah, worked three seasons at ski resort and then um in the sum, my third summer there, I moved into British Columbia, which is the next province over, and uh moved to a place called Kelowna and got into the hospitality industry there. So I was doing winters in uh in the ski hills and summers down in the in the wine country serving, and so I had this great kind of seasonal lifestyle, and then in off-seasons, I would travel all over the world. So I went down to Central America, um, traveled all around there, and then um really my best friend at the time went on this this uh um whale watching trip in Vancouver and met these guys like, yeah, we work on private yachts. I'm like, what the heck is that? That's a job. So we kind of dialed into it and we came to find there's you can actually go do this. And this was before, you know, below deck and all those shows that kind of expose the world to this industry. And um yeah, we decided at that time we were in our 20s, we could get visas kind of in all the Commonwealth countries like uh UK or Australia. So we got our um visa and hit the road and went to Australia and then started, got my first job on boats down there. So I worked um in Surfer's Paradise on some kind of tourist boats, and I worked on backpacker boats sailing all over the all over the world, and um just loved that industry. So from went from skiing to boating, completely different seasons. Um, but that kind of landed me that industry which brought me back to Florida, is how I end up in the U.S. where I am now, and worked on some boats there. And uh my best friend, who I've been traveling with this entire time, ended up getting a job on a boat in Tampa. I was in Fort Lauderdale, and I would travel over there and meet him and uh met my wife at the time, and uh, you know, we kind of dated for a while and um kind of got the ultimatum to keep sailing or or bring it on shore. So I chose the the latter and the rest is history. We end up getting married, having kids, and you know, I moved here full-time. So now a full-time resident in Florida. Um, and I work in the real estate industry. So my wife and I now own a company and we do development and management of Airbnbs and short-term rentals all over South Florida. So that what's that's what got me here today. We've kind of bounced around around Florida. We were up in Pennsylvania for a while, but you know, Florida's been home for the last I would say 13, 15 years, something like that. And uh all good. Two kids later and a business, and here we are.

Chris Grainger 8:33

Man, that's quite the testimony, brother. I mean, and I forgot all so many parts of your story. I remember reminding when we just went through it, but man, going from the snow to the to the boats, brother. I mean, you've been all over now. Now you're in Florida. I gotta ask you though, maybe it's too too fresh for you. So what do you think about that that uh hockey match the other day, man? USA versus Canada, where where are you?

Dave Watt 8:57

Oh my goodness. That was wild. I mean, I was texting with family back in Canada. You know, I'm I'm an American citizen now, so I I was rooting for for the USA, but man, I was torn, you know, it was honestly some of the best periods of hockey I've ever seen. It was crazy. But um, you know, super proud of both of them, but loved to see US came out on top. So there you go, man. It was solid. That wasn't that was intense.

From Lukewarm Faith To Real Surrender

Chris Grainger 9:21

Well, how about your, you know, you got a lot of things going, your business is is booming, but how about your discipleship journey? Like where where along the line were, you know, did you become a believer and what did that look like for you?

Dave Watt 9:33

Sure. Yeah. So I would say later in life for sure, you know, I can remember always as a kid believing, you know, believing is something. I was I was baptized Catholic by my my Nana. She you know, forced my parents to do it more than anything. And I would think they were um faith was never really talked about in my family home. You know, like we talked about God and we believed, but we weren't attending church or anything. So I would say we were lukewarm, you know, for all sakes of conversation. And then um it was really, you know, in those times I was traveling, you know, I would say was kind of living a selfish lifestyle, was doing my own thing and having a great time and having lots of experiences, but definitely far from God, you know, at that point in my life. Um, but not I've never been like atheist or anything, but never really wasn't following by any means. And then it was more so when I met my now wife um when my heart really started to soften, you know, she started talking to me more about God and you know, taking me to church. And, you know, I can remember the times like being nervous, sitting in the back row, you know, listening, but like, you know, what's going on here? Everyone's so nice, like what's what's happening here. So it definitely started to get, you know, my heart softening. And then once we had kids, it really started to change for me. We put our kids into a Christian day uh daycare and then started attending church regularly there and you know, meeting other believers there. And I would say that's when I really started to like to use your words, drop the plow a little bit more and start paying attention and and reading the word. And but it was still really kind of surface level. Um, and then when we moved, I would say that's when kind of things really started to change. You know, I went through some struggles with the move and just other things. Business growth was actually struggling with some anxiety and different things that were kind of really, I would say not holding me back, but was really starting to pull on my heart and you know, and needing to address, you know. So talking with my wife, she's like, you know, it's I think you need to talk to someone, you know, it's kind of beyond my skills at this point. So I begrudgingly actually got a Christian therapist and started talking to her and had some powerful connections with her. And she really started to speak word into me. And we had some really intense, I think, encounters with God where he and her worked on me, pulling me out. And man, like it was, I'm telling, like, a night and day transformation for me, and really started diving to scripture. And she kind of helped me guide me through, you know, different scriptures to read and how to apply it in my situation. And that's when I really felt, you know, God tugging my heart and touching me. And, you know, when they talk about having his his hand along my back and pushing me along, it was really powerful kind of month for me and transformed my whole kind of vision. And then at the same time, we were we had recently moved, so we were kind of church shopping and finding our new place we wanted to come home. And through a recommendation of a friend, we landed at our our church here in in Southwest Florida, next level, and really had some power. I've never experienced church like that, you know, when you can really feel God in the room, and it was just such a credible experience. And the connections I made with the location pastors and and different people there just completely changed the course of my life, really. And it led us to, you know, getting baptized again as an adult and my wife getting rebaptized, my son choosing to get baptized alone when he was at least seven years old. So really put us on this really cool path. And then I would say to that that same time when they talk about you know surrendering everything, it was at that time when I think we've talked about it before, like finances was one of those things that I really had a hard time surrendering. That's one thing like you know, we talk about I got, you know, I got you on this, but you know, my money's, you know, my thing. I'll handle that. And then it was a challenge doing we were doing some kingdom building stuff, and you know, the message really touched me and said, hey, just this one thing you can test me in. And it was during actually a really tough time in our business. I didn't have a lot of disposable income at the time, but we had some equipment that I wasn't really using, and we sold it, and I put all the proceeds towards the kingdom building effort. And within weeks, like our whole financial picture was changing and leads were coming in and businesses were growing. It was just like wow, like outpouring of support and only from the Lord. And that kind of just was that full circle moment. It's like, well, he's really got me. Like, why I don't what do I gotta worry about? And from then on, it's just been, you know, glory to God, full, full, full steps forward, you know. And that this is right around the same time where I kind of had found the lion, you know. I I think I randomly was just on the I was searching Christian podcasts. Um, because I you know it's uh interesting. I always find myself, it's like, what's in my Audible cue and what's in my my Amazon books? Like what's what's my heads into? It was always business books, growth, this and that. And I just this is when I was doing my my kind of deep dive on and learning more about Christianity. And and you came across and started listening to the dailies, and we connected. I came up to an event and just been kind of growing that relationship together ever since, which has been which has been amazing. So coming full circle, it's you know, life in the last three years since I've really kind of leaned into the Lord is is in a complete 180. Complete 180. So that's me.

Chris Grainger 15:30

Wow, bro, that's an incredible story and testimony. And God is definitely moving in your life in a mighty way for sure. And you found uh like you said you came to one of our first events, and that was awesome to have you up here from that. And and now you're also in a mastermind group, and you know, you're kind of on one of our founders of that. You know, we got three full groups right now. We're adding more groups as as we speak, but uh you know what what kind of led you to the mastermind and maybe what do you enjoy the most about it?

Dave Watt 16:00

Well, um, I would say it's not my second mastermind. In my church, we do small group and stuff, and I've uh we have one called Freedom Curriculum, and it's really powerful. And I did it with a small group of men, and it was um just a really powerful experience, and and having that vulnerability with other men, um, none of which I've ever had before. You know, I've I've never really had those open feelings or or discussions with with guys that I barely know before. And going through that and seeing what was happened on the other side for myself and just seeing the growth and the change in the other guys I was going along with was just so powerful. Um, so having the when you brought it up to me, you know, having the opportunity to do that again. And I knew a few of the guys that were inner group, so I kind of welcome the opportunity to to go again because I know you know what it can do for it. And obviously, I want to support you guys and see that grow and kind of feedback and that I can provide for y'all. So um, you know, when you when you mentioned it was kind of a no-brainer for me. Um, so jumping on board, you know, we've been at it for I don't even know, two or three months now, maybe longer. Um, but I I can already see it with this group, you know, it's it's interesting in the beginning. It's like everyone's kind of getting to know everybody and everyone's a little quiet. And then once you get to know everyone, you know, everyone opens up. And I've seen, you know, a lot of challenges kind of get broken through, you know, on these groups. And um, you know, we're all there to support each other and hold each other accountable. Um, and I look forward to it, you know. It's and I think everyone in our group, we're all pretty good. Like, you know, the only time things are missed is like you know, people are traveling or or business things that can't change, but we're all committed um you know and accountable to each other, so it's been a bit a great experience.

Chris Grainger 17:58

That's that's so great. And maybe for you thinking through what's been the most impactful part personally for Dave as you've gone through this since you know we've we've launched these groups.

Dave Watt 18:11

Um I would say like knowing that you've got um a group of kind of trusted advisors or or accountability partners that you can be open and share vulnerable things with and know that you know you're gonna get biblical wisdom and and there's guys they've got a lot of experience from different, you know, completely different backgrounds, you know, everyone's married, has kids, doesn't have kids, own businesses, doesn't own businesses. So it's it's such a diverse background. But what I like about it is all everyone's um I would say advice is kind of rooted in biblical uh faith. You know, it's all coming from a good place. Um so that's been impactful for me and just having the accountability knowing that you know every other week I've got I gotta be somewhere and and not a what do I benefit or how can I help others? You know, that's also you know showing up and be able to pass on things that I've dealt with or or experiences I had that I can I can help others. So that also you know is a big part for me is be able to kind of give back and help help others as well.

Encouragement For The Man On The Fence

Chris Grainger 19:24

Yeah, 100%. I mean, that's that's that's so much important, so much value, and and biblically, you know, we try to use a lot of biblical insights and it's not just worldly opinions. And so I mean I I know one thing, you make our groups better today just by being there. And and maybe there's a guy listening right now who is considering the lion for maybe he's thinking about uh joining the lion's den or or maybe even hey, I'd like to open an application for the master's mind, but he's on the fence right now. What would be your word of encouragement to that guy who just hasn't taken that first step yet with us?

Dave Watt 19:58

Yeah, I mean I think it's just more or less, you know, start with baby steps, you know, if you do the you know, chime in every day and and just start tapping into the daily devotionals. And I think about like you know, and I know everyone's money situations are different, so there's you know, some financial block holes, but I think if you're looking for a group of guys that can really help you just navigate life, you know, it's a great place to be because sometimes we don't always have that person to turn to, or you got tough questions, or sometimes you've got the things you want to discuss that's not a pro you know, it's not a conversation for your wife. You know, you need other places to turn. You know, it's a place that you can really get that um I would say support from. Um, and I think it's if if like anything else, you got to give it a try. You know, if you feel like God's nudging you to make a change or or or look somewhere else. I mean, you know the feeling. We all get that feeling. You know, no one's holding your feet to the fire. You can give it a try, and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. But I would say, you know, at least give yourself a some opportunity to to commit yourself and and you don't know, maybe there's somebody else that needs a word from you. You know what I mean? Like it not may not just be for you. Maybe there's a guy in this group that needs that word from you. So just think about that opportunity that you could be helping somebody out. That it's like answering the call, you know. If you don't, maybe someone's not benefiting from that one word that you could you could share on them.

Chris Grainger 21:33

100%. And that's that's it's such a powerful part of the the way it's structured and designed. Dave, I like I said, man, we're we're honored and blessed just to have you in it, brother. And so, I mean, thank you for sharing your testimony. I mean, obviously God's moving your life in a mighty way. Uh, is there anything else you'd like to share with our guys today before we jump into our dad jokes and stuff here, Dan?

Dad Jokes And Community Fun

Dave Watt 21:55

Uh uh I I don't know. I I think more so just if you feel the knock, you feel the tug, and whether it's this or anything in life, just just open the door. You know what I mean? You you gotta explore it. You don't have to go all the way down the hall, but just open the door and and just don't turn your eye to opportunities. You just you don't know what could be on the other side, so just give it a shot.

Chris Grainger 22:19

Amen, brother. Amen. Well, guys, I'm telling you, you want to connect with with incredible men like Dave, you know, this is where it's at. Uh, I will mention our book of the week is I3 for leaders, so check that out. And I got a couple of dad jokes I want to run by by Dave here and see what he thinks about them. So that so Dave, I got these jokes from um our our duck, our dad joke connoisseur, Doug, okay. So he's in our teammate, and and he sends me dad jokes all the time. So anytime I'll try to write them down and keep up with them. So uh the first one, we were actually talking about uh haircuts earlier uh before we started recording. So the first one lines right up with that topic. So so what do you call a line of men waiting to get haircuts? You know what that's called, Dave?

Dave Watt 22:59

You know, I don't know, Chris. So that's a barbecue. Okay.

Chris Grainger 23:08

So that's Dave. So that's Doug's first one. Okay. Uh the second one, the second one is called uh what did let's see, see, number two. What did the cop say so to his belly button?

Dave Watt 23:21

What did who say to his belly button? The cop. The cop say to his belly button. Oh I don't know, hit me.

Chris Grainger 23:30

Uh you're under a vest. So I I don't know, Doug, man. You gotta swing harder next time, bro.

Dave Watt 23:38

I I I'll take the barbecue. Uh uh I'll take the barbecue. Like the barbecue one.

Chris Grainger 23:42

Okay. All right. All right. But look, Doug, look, you you you know you can do better. I'm just kidding. I love you, Doug. So keep bringing them in to us. Uh, these are awesome. So, and again, we do these polls, and I don't know if you look at a poll on when we put them out on Fridays or not today, but I always get it's funny to me the guys, I got several guys who say they don't vote till they run the jokes by their wife. So then that's how based off of her response is how they vote. So, anyway, uh thanks for playing on all with that, Dave.

The Trust Question Of The Week

Dave Watt 24:10

Of course, of course.

Chris Grainger 24:12

All right, guys. The question of the week is Am I a man that can be trusted? That's a really challenging question for us to think about and to consider. So if you're not, hey, you need some support. The Lion Within is the mastermind, the lion's den, all the things that we do to just to try to serve. And Dave, just thank you again so much for coming on and sharing your testimony today, my man.

Dave Watt 24:31

Of course, of course. Anytime.

How To Connect And Take Next Steps

Sexual Integrity Support Group Invitation

Chris Grainger 24:33

Thanks for having me. All right, brother. Well, look, guys, if you're listening, give us a rating review. All the stuff that Dave and I talked about can be found at the Lion Within. That's the don't forget to the lionwithin.us. Check our website out. Join Alliance Den. That's easy way to get started. Or put in an application for the mastermind. It's all right there. You can also follow us on the Bible app. We're dropping plans on that Bible app probably about two a month right now, fellas. So lots of effort going in there to serve you there. So check it out. Unleashing the line within is our book, Amazon, Audible, all the stuff the ebook is there, fellas. Uh, other than that, have a great day, great weekend, and just keep unleashing the line within. It's time to stop battling pornography, lust, and temptation alone. We're done sitting on the sidelines, seeing shame win, and hearing from guys that are fighting private wars with no backup. So we decided it's time to fight back. We have our sexual integrity support group, which is a confidential space inside the lion's den for men who are ready to step into the light and pursue real freedom. This isn't just for guys in crisis, by the way. It's for any man who's tired of the cycle, who's tired of living in secret, who's tired of saying this is gonna be the last time. Look, most guys don't need another app or some rules. They need some brothers to come alongside them to say you're not the only one. This doesn't define you. And freedom is possible. So look, inside our group, you're gonna find a confidential, judgment-free forum to engage and ask questions. You'll have honest conversations without condemnation. And you'll also have a monthly call with a trusted guide. So look, this isn't just about stopping pornography, it's about becoming a man of integrity, a man aligned, a man who lives in freedom, not secrecy. And you don't have to clean yourself up first to come. You just have to step in. So our sexual integrity support group is found inside the lion's den. And you can start that today with a 30 day free trial. So if you're ready to stop fighting alone and need that extra support, start your 30 day free trial right now at thelionwithin.us. That's thhelionwithin.us, and step inside the lion's den.