[00:00:12] Speaker A: Hey, everybody. Welcome to Battle Ready, the process of reinventing yourself. In this segment, we're going to talk to a young man that's done a lot of things. Started out working in a bagel store for a lot of years, and now he's here in Houston. He is the director or the executive director for the YMCA's philanthropy program. I want to welcome Adam.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: Thanks for having me, Ricky.
[00:00:36] Speaker A: Adam, man, welcome to be here. We've known each other for a little while now, right?
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: And you know, I always think about as we talk, I always get to learn your story more and more. And when we started going over the idea of the story, the story of Battle Ready and the process of reinventing themselves, I was thinking, man, Adam, be the perfect person. Adam, so you're from New York, right?
[00:01:00] Speaker B: I am.
[00:01:00] Speaker A: So this weather, is it? How's this weather handling?
[00:01:03] Speaker B: I don't like it.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: You don't like it? Not at all. So you've been here how many years?
[00:01:06] Speaker B: Thirteen and a half years.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: So, okay, so you actually transplanted Houstonia now?
[00:01:10] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:01:10] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. So early on when you were in New York, what did you do?
[00:01:16] Speaker B: So when I got into college, I started working in the bagel business like my family always have.
[00:01:22] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: My dad said you're not doing this your whole life, so you have to keep going to school. So I kept going to school. So for 10 years I went to school, I worked in the bagel store. Early mornings, like.
[00:01:33] Speaker A: What do you mean?
[00:01:33] Speaker B: Like, I would wake up at like 2 in the morning, pick up the baker, turn the kettle on, turn the oven on, hang out for a little bit, drink some coffee, then work until about 2 in the afternoon, take a little bit of a break and then head to grad school at that point.
[00:01:49] Speaker A: Oh, wow. Okay. So pretty busy. How did you keep motivated with that?
[00:01:54] Speaker B: No sleep would be my motivation. It was adrenaline rushes. But I just had good people behind me. Right. Always just testing my ability. And I think that was just what kept pushing me. Right.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: And so you did that for what, quite a few years?
[00:02:10] Speaker B: Yeah. So I was really, you know, I started in college, you know, when I was 18. Right. In 2001. And I was actually working the afternoon and then going to College from like 5 to 10. And then by, like, I don't know, by the time I was like 25, 26, I was working from, you know, going to grad school at night. So I was early mornings, those two AMs and then I just, yeah. So for a 10 year period, that was my life. Right. Ups and downs. Schedules all over the place and just making things happen.
[00:02:38] Speaker A: And if I recall you were also a teacher for a while.
[00:02:41] Speaker B: I did, I did so at one point in between with all that free time. So I would get to, I taught PE at 2:30. So I'd leave the bangle store about two get to the school I was teaching at by 2:30 and then teach a PE class. And then one day a week I would teach all day. So by the time I got here, I thought I wanted to teach, but I was exhausted from that experience, experience of teaching just that short period. And I just didn't think it was right. Like it was too repetitive for me. So teaching kind of took the back burner.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: Okay, okay. And then during this time, what were some of the struggles you outside of sleep?
[00:03:21] Speaker B: You know, I think just like there was, you know, I was saying before I had a lot of positive role models, right. Everyone encouraging, nothing really negative, which is, which is great. Right. Coaches that were pushing and just testing again, everything that I was capable of doing. But sometimes like your mental health, that's not the only answer, right. You get in your own head, you have a lot of self doubt.
What? You know, my dad would say you're not going to do this your whole life. You're not going to wake up early, you're not going to do that. I'm like, oh well this is what I'm good at right now.
I don't think I can do anything.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: And you're comfortable.
[00:03:54] Speaker B: Exactly. And I was good at it, right. Like I'm fast, I build relationships, I can talk, I can do all of those things. I can lead teams and I can do all of that. But sometimes you get in your own head, man, and just like set you back. And I would say I feel like I'm a positive person. But you know, mental health is always a question.
[00:04:14] Speaker A: So what were some of the things you did to keep yourself out of your head, so to speak?
[00:04:20] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean therapy always, always works. If you don't, if you don't go to it, go to it, you know, find one. It's always good, right. It's a non biased person that just there to listen. And I'm sure everyone has somebody else in their life, but if you have access to therapy, I would say go because she, she just, my first therapist right when I was in New York, she just, she just kept saying, what do you want to do next? What do you want to do next? She really made me fully decide to just drive to Houston.
[00:04:53] Speaker A: Really?
[00:04:54] Speaker B: Yeah. And I mean my Brother was here. Right. I had somewhere to go. Right. But she was the one that was like, I think it's time for you. Everything you say, I think it's time for you to go. And I remember hugging her on the last night and I, you know, a couple of days later, I got my car and just took off.
[00:05:10] Speaker A: Yeah. And there was some fear. And that changed, right?
[00:05:13] Speaker B: Yeah. I didn't know where I was. You know, I knew I had to sleep in my niece's pink bed for an extended period of time. That was like one of the fears. Right. But I guess the other fears, I, you know, I didn't really. I didn't know what I wanted to do anymore. Right. That whole teaching experience, the repetitiveness, I just knew it wasn't necessarily for me, but I wanted to be involved with families and I wanted to be involved with kids and their development and families and their opportunities to really grow together.
And so, yeah, I didn't have a job. I didn't really have anything about $4,000 in the bank and a lot of decisions to make.
[00:05:49] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:05:50] Speaker B: So, yeah, I would say, like, that was a fear, but I wasn't petrified. I knew there was something for me. The question was, how fulfilling is it going to be for me?
[00:05:59] Speaker A: Okay. And you said, helping families, and that's kind of why you're in the why now, right?
[00:06:03] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:06:04] Speaker A: You love that, huh?
[00:06:05] Speaker B: It's everything, man.
It fills my cup. Right. It's tough work, right? The experiences that you go through, the stories you hear things like that, but it makes you want to just help more families and find out more stories and find new opportunities for them. So when I moved here, I said, I'm never gonna serve food again. I knew I wasn't gonna teach again. But I did start to work in Starbucks in the morning.
[00:06:30] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: And then my nephew was playing basketball at the Y and I went in and they were like, oh, yeah, we can get you a part time job. So I got a part time job there.
[00:06:41] Speaker A: What'd you do?
[00:06:41] Speaker B: I worked at the welcome center and I officiated youth sports. So volleyball was the first thing I officiated. Then I went to baseball, and during the baseball season is when they offered me a full time job as a youth development director. So that was my first real job that I thought I really wanted. And the best part was is that there was kids and families and there was no repetition. Not every day is the same. And so it was just a, it was a perfect fit. And then, you know, we had an adaptive baseball program that we were just starting at the Y, and it just was, you know, you just given opportunities and you see smiles on faces when you don't really know what happens outside of their lives.
[00:07:21] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:21] Speaker B: And yeah, that's really what that was like, my first real thing where I was like, ah, I'm fulfilling, like the, like what I want to do, you know, and.
[00:07:31] Speaker A: And that adaptive baseball program, Miracle League, right.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:35] Speaker A: It's come a long way, hasn't it?
[00:07:37] Speaker B: It has, it has. About that time.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: So spring of 2012, there was about 12 players, and today there's roughly 200 participants in one of the programs and offering it to youth and adults with special needs and making sure that their families have that opportunity to be a part of it, to be a part of, you know, whether they're a coach or they're in the stands cheering on their kiddos.
[00:07:59] Speaker A: And you're involved in one in Cyprus, but isn't there another one on the other side of town?
[00:08:04] Speaker B: There is. There is. There's one in Lake Houston. Lake Houston in partnership with Humble isd.
There's the exact same program.
[00:08:10] Speaker A: And it's a nationwide program, isn't it?
[00:08:12] Speaker B: It's international.
[00:08:13] Speaker A: Oh, really?
[00:08:14] Speaker B: Yeah, they have fields all over. Yeah.
[00:08:16] Speaker A: Well, that's amazing. You know, like I said, you've done a lot. You started bagels, did some Starbucks.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:22] Speaker A: You know, early on at YMCA, and now helping with the philanthropy for all the YMCAs in Houston.
[00:08:30] Speaker B: Yeah. So I support all of the why's, like you were saying, Ricky, in really creating their plan, identifying donors that. And prospects that they can.
That they can really take in and share impact and educate so they know what the Y really is. So that it's not just that gym or a gym and swim or whatever folks might have the perception of, but it's really making an impact in the community.
And there's. In so many ways, in so many ways, like you said, the adaptive programming, even getting folks access to the Y that might not be able to afford it. So really, regardless of their. Their ability to pay. Right. The Y wants to make sure that they have. They have an opportunity to be a part of it.
[00:09:15] Speaker A: And the Y is kind of a community within itself. Right. A lot of support in there.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: There is, There is from. From a development standpoint, like a personal development, a professional development standpoint. For me, I have my community, I have my people. I am. Like I said, I had some of that doubt, Right. Whether the big old business could I do anything else. Right. Professionally. And I mean, the why made me into who I am today. Right.
Like professionally. Right. I lead, I would say casually. I turn it on the professionalism at a high level when I need to. But, you know, I mean, I feel like being able to create relationships and feeling really comfortable with the people around you give you that energy. And at least for me, it gives me that energy to perform at such high levels. So, you know, they dig into me, they, they fill me up, they educate me, they move me further.
And then it gives me an opportunity to get out into the community and pour into them as well.
[00:10:14] Speaker A: Well, you know, Adam, it seems like through these last couple years and I've definitely seen you in action out at the Miracle League, you've had an opportunity to grow immensely and I really appreciate you coming on the show today.
We're getting ready to go into a commercial. But again, welcome everybody. We'll have Adam back on the show at another time. We'll talk a little bit about what are the things he does at the YMC and some of the challenges and how he reaches out to the community. We'll talk to you soon.
Welcome back. It's Rick Chavez with Battle Ready. It's the process of reinventing yourself. What we're going to talk today is Adam Spiegel from the ymca. He's the executive director of philanthropy and one of our past shows, Adam told us about his journey from working in the bagel world with his family for 10 plus years to being where he's at now and some of the challenges and some of the things he experienced throughout the way. Adam, welcome.
[00:11:20] Speaker B: Thanks, Ricky.
[00:11:22] Speaker A: So, you know, earlier on one of our shows, we talked a little bit about your challenges and you were kind of unique. You didn't have any challenges, but then you brought something to me. So currently you're the executive director of philanthropy. I know you said you shortened that up a little bit, but you started in the front, right. Then you went into the youth development area. I did. And have there ever been an opportunity that you saw within the wire or a job you really wanted and you applied and you didn't get it?
[00:11:53] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Unfortunately, fortunately, however you want to look at it. Right.
But yeah, I did. I transitioned positions over a 10 year period in operations. Right. I was at the, the welcome center@the y 13 years ago this week.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:12:11] Speaker B: I started and I moved into the youth development role pretty quickly. I moved into a senior membership director role where, you know, sales were very important. Sales and service, like, I mean, everything else we do, but that was there. And then I transitioned into a director of Operations role, which then an executive director role. But within that time, I had applied for positions and I didn't always get them.
And I interviewed. I got better at interviewing, things like that. But, you know, there were times when I. When I didn't get it and.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: Okay, well, so let's talk about the interviewing process. So you totally did all your homework to get interviewed. Did you ever go to interview unprepared? Did you, like, want to kick yourself in the leg because you thought about the interview and, like, some of the things you could have done to prepare better?
[00:13:04] Speaker B: Yeah. That's a loaded question, Rick.
[00:13:06] Speaker A: It is.
[00:13:07] Speaker B: I'm just gonna be honest. Sure.
I think I shared, right. Being. Being over prepared. For me, I think about it too often, and then the wrong things just might come out. But yeah, did I go into everyone prepared? I probably went into some overconfident thinking I was prepared, but I just wasn't, you know. And so as I continued to interview again, I get great feedback at the Y. Right. And that's how I got better. So the one experience of the multiple that I was just sharing with you, I interviewed, I felt good. I had good feedback after, but I didn't get the position.
It was better than my last ones. So that was good for me. I was like, okay, I'm getting there.
But yeah, I think the interview process is always challenging. And either you're a really good talker and you could talk about yourself and get your.
And really show what you're. You're made of. And I think that that's.
That's where I lacked. Right. I just wasn't good at talking about myself. So I've gotten better. I feel more confident just about talking about me and it being natural and not thinking about every situation that I've experienced that I need to share. But yeah, I think, you know, it's a genuine part in an interview is what I've gotten better at. So.
[00:14:30] Speaker A: Okay, so one of the things you said is you got positive feedback.
Negative feedback is sometimes a plus too, right?
[00:14:38] Speaker B: I mean, constructive. Negative.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: Okay, okay. Much better word. Constructive, you know, so. So tell me about one of the constructive feedback that you got that maybe shocked you for a minute, but once you really looked into it, you. You made some adjustments.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: Oh, that's a good one.
So early on in my career, I was told by supervisor, you get from A to L, but you forget about M to Z.
That took me a little while to get there. Right. I get it started right, but I can't finish. And I was like, oh, that's really good perception, some good feedback. And so I asked some questions and I was like, help me. Right? And I think a lot of it had to do with, like, organization, right? And the structure of whether it was my day or my office or my files or whatever it was, right. And so I think, yeah, I think it was really just. That was probably one of the best ones. I might use that out loud sometimes in a nicer way, if I'm being honest. But, yeah, I think that was it. Right. Like, I can start it at a really high level, but can I finish or can I finish it at the same or a better level than what it was? And it makes more sense to me every day because, you know, you work with a lot of people, right? Or I work with a lot of people. And you just think about, you know, there's so much going on in everyone's life, right? And you just, you know, you want to be able to support them and you want them to be efficient and be able to spend time with their family and spend time, you know, quality time at work and with their peers and with their friends. And I mean, if you're not organized and efficient, it's really hard to do all of that stuff, right. To get it all in.
[00:16:20] Speaker A: So, so, so that's definitely an interesting analogy. You know, A to L and not M to Z.
Many people would take that very negatively and. And maybe not be able to bounce back from it. Have you ever caught yourself, I'm, to be honest now, caught yourself where it's like, I need to be positive because I've never known you not to be positive, but, you know, a little down on yourself. And what does this guy know?
But as you think about a little bit more, you regrouped.
[00:16:54] Speaker B: Absolutely.
I would always assume positive intent by most.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: I try to.
[00:17:04] Speaker B: The way they deliver it, what they're trying to get to me, right? I like the direct stuff, man. Like, get me there. Don't make me read in between the lines. I don't have that kind of time, right. This goes back to my organization efficiency. If I'm sitting there and I'm thinking, trying to figure out what you're trying to tell me.
I'm not going to move forward. I'm not going to get better.
And most people might not be like that. I know that the people I surround myself with want to make me better, and that's really how I take it. Maybe not every experience, but the older I get, the more mature I get. Whatever, however you want to look at it, the more I get past who, how they said it, and what their intent really is.
[00:17:45] Speaker A: You know, that's one of the things I told a lot of people. I was in HR for a lot of years. I said, you got to overlook the delivery and just hear what they're saying. But you also said something earlier that hit me was the fact that you said, you know, they gave me feedback and I asked a lot of questions. Instead of drawing into yourself and really thinking how devastated you might be, you. You ask them additional questions to kind of find out what you are really trying to say versus reading between the lines. Did that help you?
[00:18:15] Speaker B: I think it just. That makes me better, right? You telling me if you kept it in, if I didn't ask questions and you didn't give the truth to me, then how am I going to get better at what it was? And that's how I was saying my interview processes got better. I know they weren't good. I know they weren't better than the person before me or the person. Person out, you know, probably the person right after me. But they were getting better because of the feedback that I was getting. And you know what? I just. How I processed it, right. And how I thought I can get better. So.
[00:18:45] Speaker A: Okay, so let's push it to a different thing. All right? So being positive all the time, customer service, which, you know, many of us are in, Talk to me about a situation where you had an individual or a prospective person coming to the Y and they didn't know how they could make it happen or become part of it, or they had some feedback that was untrue, but they didn't know it. How did you help them or work with them? You were telling me about a situation that you had for this.
[00:19:22] Speaker B: I don't know if that was it, but I have another situation, but that's for this in particular.
I think, again, going back to customer service, you want to impress everybody, right? You want everybody to think the highest of the product or the service that you're delivering.
It's not always possible, right? We've got a lot of folks that walk in or wherever it is in our life that are a part of, you know, that are a part of the Y or a program or anything like that. And I think listening to what their needs are or. Or what they're expressing is really important, right? In any situation, if we start talking, if we start explaining before we actually hear, I think we're just putting ourselves into a tough scenario.
If there is an expectation of a service and the quality or the need of the individual or the family, I would want them to share, right? We would want anybody to share about their experience because we want to get better, right? We might be able to hit every need, but we need to be transparent and say, hey, we're not going to make this happen. We could make this happen.
I think. Now that I think about what you were saying. Sorry.
There was a scenario. I received a phone call in about 2014, spring of 2014, and a parent had called, and they weren't able to pay a fee for a program.
And she said, my son just wants to play.
He has a friend that plays baseball in a Little League, and he just is always out there. He goes to practice. He always wants to participate. Now, this is 12 years ago, right? Just about. And she said, we're not going to be able to pay for it. And I said, hey, like, let me see what I can do. So I went to my supervisor and I said, hey. A parent called. Her son just wants to play. He's 12 years old. He wants to play Miracle League Baseball.
And he said, okay, let's. We don't need to. We can just subsidize it, right? We have fundraising dollars that we can support. And so I call her up and she said, I was like, hey, just want to let you know we're going to cover the fee for you. And she's like, really? And. Right. The kid gets to the first game and has a full, you know, his full uniform that he gets. Right? He puts on his socks, his pants, his belt, his jersey, his hat, the whole thing. And mom just walked up and she said, you don't know what you're doing for him.
What is he, 13, 12 years ago, 11 years ago, whatever it might have been, they're still there. They play Monday night. He plays in competitive.
The competitive Miracle League that plays on Monday nights. And he just. He's there. He participates. This is a conversation that I had 11 years ago, and I haven't paid a dollar since, you know, so you just make things happen for people. And I think that scenario, right, is more of how we're supporting in fundraising.
But, yeah, I think.
[00:22:27] Speaker A: Well, no, I definitely appreciate you bringing that up and definitely talking about the Miracle League. We'll talk a little bit more on one of our shows about the Miracle League again. Adam, it's been a pleasure having you on here. Everybody, we're getting ready to go to another commercial. I appreciate your time. Mr. Adam Spiegel with the YMCA.
Hey, guys, welcome back. Ricky Chavez with Battle Ready. The process of reinventing yourself. You know, the last couple shows, we've been talking to various people, and we have one of our local guests that we've had on a couple times. His name, Adam Siegel Spiegel from the ymca. We've talked a lot of different things about where he came from, where he's at now, what he does. And we're going to talk a little bit more about some of the challenges he's had, you know, in his life as he, you know, continues to soar in the ymca. Adam, welcome.
[00:23:26] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:23:27] Speaker A: You know, one of your shows you brought up, you know, mental health, some of the things you were going through and some of the help you got in New York, you know, prior to making your transition down here, you know, helping you out a lot in reconfirming what you wanted to do, where you wanted to go. And now that you're in Houston, you've been here 13 years, and you've progressed through different positions at the YMCA. And naturally, you know, you get to meet a lot of people and they're different challenges in life. And with those challenges, you know, I'm sure sometimes it's hard for you to not internalize some of them with your past and things that they're going through. And so how do you handle that, Adam?
[00:24:10] Speaker B: Yeah, that's another loaded question from you. I love it. I appreciate it. Because you don't really always get to talk about it. Right. And so I think when you're working with families, you're working with a community, a diverse community. You hear a lot. You see families with kids that need help and you kind of just put their shoes on. I have a 4 and 5 year old that love to be kids and participate in things and play sports and. And swim. And the Y gives that opportunity to so many families, whether they have the ability to pay or not. Right. And I just put myself in any position and I want to give everybody the same chance because if I needed some assistance, I'd want to have somewhere to go.
So, yeah, does it sit with me?
Stories tug at my heart straight, but it puts pressure. Maybe it does, for sure. And I think that's what drives. Right, that's what drives me to make sure that we can make things happen for families as often and never have to say no to anybody because you just want to, you know, you want to make sure that they all thrive and have that right, have that respite time or have the time to develop and just like live a really quality life.
[00:25:35] Speaker A: So how do you deal with the.
[00:25:36] Speaker B: Pressure, you know, I mean, sometimes it's drowning yourself in more work, right. That kind of takes away some of that. Right. Or maybe that's what makes me go work harder. But, you know, sometimes, you know, it's having conversations, it's sharing the stories, it's listening more. You know, again, I mentioned therapy before, and it's always important, right? Making sure that you have somebody, if you have that ability, if you have access to mental health. I mean, there's online options, there's zoom options there, in person things. I choose to go in person because the pressures in life, raising children, going to work, making sure you have time for just about everything, it's really tough to manage sometimes and to be able to just say, okay, everyone else goes through this, right? Everyone else does that. Everybody else feels pressured too. It's really about how you process and you share and you just try to get better at it. And I think again, going back to the mental health thing, it could really stop you. If your mental health is not high quality, it could stop your progression. And if you're not moving forward in life, you're probably, probably moving backwards. It's not even just being still. And I think we probably talked about that earlier, is that we've got to keep moving forward. We've got to battle through those times. And I choose to go to therapy. I choose to walk outside. Not in cold weather, but I choose to walk when it's right. Maybe not in hot weather, but yeah, I mean, it's being active, taking breaths, stopping smelling the roses, looking at all the bright stuff stuff, because that negative stuff, although it's going to exist, although it's going to hit you, you don't want it to hit you and stop you.
[00:27:31] Speaker A: I'm sure you don't share a lot with everybody about that. I'm really very proud of you for sharing it. Now, I guess the question is, have you ever had anybody question you about the therapy or why you're going and what you get out of it?
[00:27:48] Speaker B: I don't want to say they question me or want to stop me, more so than they want to make sure that, like, I am spending my time wisely. Or they might ask why I go, right? And I don't think I share. I don't share too much, right. I just share that I think that it's needed for my life. Right? And like I said, if you have access, it's worth at least one visit.
No, you know, people know that I go, right? I'm pretty open about the fact that I go, I don't Know if. About the content of the meeting. Right. Necessarily. You know, you say I'm surrounded by all these positive people. Right. People support. You know, if you're not surrounded by people that are going to support you in whatever you do, I think you're probably going in the wrong direction or your circle is the wrong circle.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: You know what, I want to cut you in right there because, you know, a lot of times you've been very fortunate to have your circle, but have you ever encountered somebody that wanted to be in your circle? And maybe their whole attitude and mindset, they were a great person, but it just didn't fit. How did you, you know, kind of keep yourself from them?
[00:28:54] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's. I don't say cutting off. This is probably a little rude, but. Yeah, I mean, I think it's just making it clear, like, where you're going and what your intentions are with your personal life. Right. That kind of weed those folks out. Right. If they want to join the circle, that's great. Right. Because they're going to want to get better. Right. But when you're clear and you know where and they know what your goals are in life, I think they kind of either weave themselves in or weed themselves out. You know, I think we all have, like, those weeds in life, right. That we know we need to get out of there. Sure. Sometimes it's not that easy, but it's definitely possible. Right. You just got to be intentional.
[00:29:30] Speaker A: Are those conversations hard? I mean, have you had. Do you remember a conversation like that?
[00:29:34] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, I would say it's definitely hard situation. It's a hard conversation.
But you've. I don't want to say you have to practice it, but you have to know what you're worth. Right. You have to know what, where. What your direction is. Right. If you sit there and you're confused or you're. You don't know what to do, you probably don't do anything. Right. It's going to really, really be difficult to articulate what, what needs to happen within that relationship or the conversation. So I would say, like, it's the preparation of those conversations. Right.
So when I made the move from New York to Houston, that was it. Right. Like, I had to get away from a circle. Right. I had to get away from people and from certain people, not because I didn't want to be with them. It just wasn't good for my life. Right. Like, it wasn't.
They weren't. We weren't going in the same direction. And again, I didn't Even know exactly what I wanted to do. Right. I just knew I didn't want to be there. Right. So it's either like saying goodbye, Right. Which is something. Right. Is probably a difficult conversation, but I think it's all about that preparation for everybody in scenarios that are difficult, that might cause some conflict or might hurt some feelings. But the transparency in preparation and the conversation is probably number one.
[00:30:57] Speaker A: And so what are some of the things you did to find out what you wanted to do? I mean, we talked about. You didn't really know, but what were some of the factors that played a part in you kind of get an idea, decided, okay, this is really what I want to do.
[00:31:14] Speaker B: Yeah. I think it's the experience, Right. If you tell me that I should be involved, not you, Ricky. But if anybody. Yeah. Oh, I know, I know. No, if anybody is going to tell me what my experience is going to be in a situation, I'm not going to really take their word for it. It's not a disrespectful thing. Right. I need to experience it. I need to put myself into it in order to realize whether I'm going to like it or not. And so I will say, like, any of the situations, I'll say, like my teaching experience. Right. I had to put myself into that situation for a school year. Now. It was part time. It was. It was, you know, physical education classes. I just knew that it just was not my thing. Right. And I. And I love kids. I love to see them grow and develop and all of those things. I just knew that that wasn't it. And so the only reason why I wanted to continue to do it when I moved here is because the sun's out like nine months out of the year and I can get a tan. Right.
[00:32:11] Speaker A: Except right now, right?
[00:32:13] Speaker B: Yeah, now is not the time.
You know, I was like, oh, this is going, you know, summers off, right. It's hot, there's pools everywhere. I can, you know, I was like, this is it. But that was, like, the only reason why. Right. And so I just knew, like, I experienced and I didn't like it. I had an experience and I didn't like it, so I didn't want to continue it. I didn't think that would be, you know, the rest. That could be the rest of my life.
But the not the same day type feeling that I have here in the why, you know, that's been going on for 13 years now. Right. And just all the experiences and that's what I enjoy.
[00:32:51] Speaker A: Okay. And we talked about you being the executive of Fyneth Week. Why don't you tell everybody, you know how they can maybe reach out to you and, you know, maybe donate or get involved?
[00:33:00] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, volunteerism is a great way, but donations could be made to support any of the y
[email protected] give or you can directly contact me at adam.spiegelmcahouston.org so my first name. My last
[email protected] all right.
[00:33:21] Speaker A: So, Adam, it's always a pleasure to talk with you. And, you know, sometimes I can't get over just how positive you are. But to me, it's very, very appealing. I definitely can learn from you. I know we've had a lot of conversations, you know, outside of the, outside of here, throughout the time we've known each other. And I just think YMCA is very fortunate to have you. I know we're getting ready to go into a break.
If there's a book that you said that somebody would want to read, what is a book that you throw out there for them?
[00:33:54] Speaker B: Such a good question. What is that favorite one of yours? Huh?
[00:33:58] Speaker A: Too bad.
[00:33:59] Speaker B: Sorry.
A book killing me on that one.
[00:34:07] Speaker A: You can't think of it right now?
[00:34:08] Speaker B: No.
[00:34:09] Speaker A: We'll come back to it. I know I told you about the Go Giver. It's a great book for everybody to read, as I told you earlier. You know, we thank you for being on the show, everybody. Thanks Long for joining us today. We're getting ready to go to a commercial. It's always a pleasure having you guys. Hope we'll see you next time. Over here on the Battle Ready.
Welcome back. This is Rico Chavez with Battle Ready. The process of reinventing yourself in over the last couple of weeks, we've had various people on the show talking about what they do now, where they've been, some of the challenges they've went through and some of the ways they handle them. You know, it's not really what happens to you that really coins you or makes the difference. It's just how you react to it. And on the show today, we have one of our guests that's been with us a couple times. It's Adam Spiegel, the director of operations and organization and philanthropy for the ymca. Hey, Adam, how are you?
[00:35:12] Speaker B: Hey, Ricky.
[00:35:14] Speaker A: So over the last couple weeks, we know in various shows we talked a little about your journey from New York Bagels to now the ymca, the different things that went on between. We've talked a little bit about mental health and how you, you know, Use it to help you go further. Well, why don't we talk about one of the challenges? What's one of some of the challenges or a challenge that really has had you go find somebody to really help you move through it?
[00:35:43] Speaker B: Yeah, great question.
I think, you know, from a fundraising standpoint, there's a lot of organizations, there's a lot of need in the city and all over the place, right? So I would say from a donor prospect or from even a funding standpoint, you know, sometimes you don't get what you ask for. And although it's, you know, it's hard to hear a no, not everyone always hears yeses.
And I just think that, you know, taking those no's and, and going to find your next opportunity, regardless of what it is, right? In my work, right, it's looking for funding and support, but it's really finding after those nos, what do you do with them? Do you just sit back and try to process and digest it all or do you go find somebody outside, a friend or, you know, another colleague or anybody, right, that you can talk to and they can help you, they can connect you or they just listen to you, give you feedback and help you get past that no or that challenge? You know, I mean, I remember we go out, we were out a few weeks ago, right? Just having lunch and talking through some stuff, right? And maybe it was dinner at that time. But, you know, you just call and, you know, you have to surround yourself with people, right? You're, you know, you're with your colleagues regularly. You just might not. They, you might just need to hear another voice, right? So having those people around you, surrounding yourself with those that are going to give you that feedback or make connections, right? We talk about, you know, you're talking about the book go giver, right? And about making connections and networking and making sure you're doing good for others, right, Those things. Yeah, you surround yourself with people that, you know, have that intention, you know.
[00:37:44] Speaker A: It'S something you said. So once upon a time, I was an army recruiter and I can remember, you know, the recruiters, nobody wakes up in the morning, want to join the army, you have to go find them, go recruit them, you know, and the big thing we used to always tell our recruiters is no is just a request for more information. How you feel about that?
[00:38:02] Speaker B: I'll take it.
[00:38:02] Speaker A: Yeah. So the other thing is you got to get through the nose to find the yeses. And, you know, one of the things I used to tell my recruiters is keep dialing once you Say no. Good. You got that? No out the way. Get that. No way. Get out the. No out. I'll get all these no's out the way that she does the fundraising also out there. And she's the. I'm not gonna. I'm gonna butcher her title, but we'll have her on a show. I know, sometime soon. But her house has to do with transplants and how the families deal with that. But anyway, you guys had a great conversation, some collaboration about directions to go. But have you ever found yourself talking to somebody that has no idea, really, about fundraising or no idea about the ymca, but they've given you good input just because it's an outsider looking in with ideas.
[00:38:52] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think we were talking about experiences. Right. And the goal, really, about having conversations, maybe not knowing about philanthropic culture or fundraising or what's happening at the Y. Those opportunities are great because you can just. You're educating somebody else, whether they want to give or they just want to learn, or they don't want to learn, but you're going to tell them anyway. Taking every opportunity to educate someone about the impact of the why or the impact of giving, regardless of where they're giving.
[00:39:27] Speaker A: I mean, networking.
[00:39:28] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:39:29] Speaker A: One thing I always tell everybody about networking, you know, everybody looks for that immediate results from a network. But I always say, if you really think about it, networking is all about meeting people that know people that need to know you. And that's kind of the key, where you're telling your story, right?
[00:39:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:49] Speaker A: And that's also. And that's kind of what you do when you're out there telling the story about philanthropy, right?
[00:39:53] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's it. Whether you educate, you can change someone's way of thinking. They're like, ah, I'm never gonna donate. I'm never gonna contribute. Right. So telling them a story of impact or giving them experience. Right. Inviting them to a program or seeing what's really happening, that's what is gonna change. That's what's gonna change them. Right. I didn't always have.
I mean, I had a passion for children and their development in watching them grow, whether it's cognitively, physically, or however. It was making sure that they had a bright future. But when it comes to adaptive programming, like we've talked about a miracle league, I wasn't like, oh, I want to go into this adaptive field. I got put into the place and it changed my life. It really did. It was just. I met people that needed more. Right. Than I did. And I was able to provide the service. Right. They wanted to be part of a team. They wanted to develop other kids as well or other youth as well. And we just gave them the opportunity at the Y. Right. Like, I was a part of their whole growth. But really it came from the fact that my experience that I was given at the Y changed my outlook on things and where I wanted to, you know, focus.
[00:41:11] Speaker A: And so I know when you talk about the miracle, you always see that glint in your eye, but I remember the first time you approached me about the Miracle League and we sponsored one of the teams out there. And I remember the first time we went out there, not only are the kids so amazing, oh, my God, their families, the parents, all the things that they get to go through. One of my wife's best friend's daughter@white.
[00:41:35] Speaker B: Ymchouston.Org and I will make the connection to Miracle League and any other adaptive programs that the Y's offer.
But if you want to volunteer, do the same thing. If you want to come and experience, if you just want to watch from the stands and experience the amazing game of baseball or any other sport, truthfully, soccer, flag football, basketball, you can volunteer. You can help play players, run the bases or, you know, run the field or whatever it might be. But yeah, you can volunteer, which is just as impactful. Always looking for volunteers to help.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: When does Miracle east start?
[00:42:15] Speaker B: Yeah, so April 5th is our spring season.
[00:42:19] Speaker A: And where is that located at? Where's the field?
[00:42:21] Speaker B: Yeah, at the Langham Creek Y is one field. And then again with Humble isd, it is in the Lake Houston Y have a field that they offer the same program.
[00:42:34] Speaker A: Okay. So coming back, I mean, I just enjoyed the Miracle League. I can remember going to with my team. And the thing that always sticks in my mind is the one young lady, every game we've ever been to, she sings the Star Spangled Banner. And it's like, it's such a big deal to her, and she's so good at it, and everybody just enjoys it. So that's one thing that sticks in my mind.
So talk a little bit more. Don't you have an event coming up?
[00:43:05] Speaker B: Yeah, there is an event March 22 that does support the Langham Creek Miracle League. It's called Party with a Purpose.
And so right at that, the goal is to have sponsorships and donations to support adaptive programming each year. So between like 350, 300 and 400 guests attend each year. And that really make, you know, that are part of really making that experience possible for all of our families for your families.
[00:43:33] Speaker A: How does that fundraising help the families?
[00:43:37] Speaker B: So, yeah, so fundraising really gives. Gives the opportunity. Right. And not every family can afford it.
There is a minimal fee for participation in, in Miracle League for our families, but not everybody has that opportunity. So like any other program at the Y, we provide that financial assistance to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to participate, regardless of their ability to pay.
[00:44:03] Speaker A: That's awesome. Well, Adam, as usual, it's always a pleasure having you on the show. These last couple of segments with you has been amazing. Always so positive.
How can somebody again reach out to you at the.
[00:44:15] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So my email address is adam.spiegelmcahouston.org again, adam.spiegel my first name.my last
[email protected] and yeah, I'll make the connection.
[00:44:30] Speaker A: Well, perfect. Once again, everybody, thanks for joining me today on Battle Ready. Seeing the positivity that's being given by Adam Spiegel and the YMCA to everybody, and another opportunity for you to look into what we offer and maybe some opportunities for you. It was great seeing you guys again. Look forward to seeing you on our next show.
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