[00:00:14] Speaker A: Welcome to Battle Ready. I'm your host, Ricky Chavez. The show is about real stories and struggles and the courage people have to go through to tell them, you know. Today we're meeting with Brandon Stubblefield, a really good friend of mine.
He's an Air Force veteran. I've known him for quite a long time, and he has founded a foundation, PBJ Youth Foundation. That's just amazing. You know, there's certain people that come into your life for a reason. And I think Brandon came into my life a long time ago, and I watched somebody, I watched him grow, and I watched him just do amazing things. And his passion for the youth is something we'll talk about today. Hey, Brandon, welcome, man.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: Thank you so much, Ricky. I appreciate that, man. I need to bring you around and introduce me Everywhere I go, 100%.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: Well, I worked on that, you know.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: So, Brandon, Air Force veteran.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:01:06] Speaker A: And. And Air Force is a big, big, big service, right?
[00:01:10] Speaker B: Well, it's one of the. It's not the largest branch, but it's a. It's a pretty good brand. I know we're gonna have some army.
[00:01:15] Speaker A: We're not gonna say nothing about Army Air Force being the army vet. But the reason I said that is, you know, I. The military is so big, but it's really so small.
[00:01:23] Speaker B: It is.
[00:01:24] Speaker A: I'm gonna come back to.
I introduced you to somebody probably four or five months ago, and you played phone tag forever and ever. And then when you guys talked, you end up realizing y' all want basic training together.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: Basic training together. It was crazy. I mean, like, the chances of, you know, 20 something odd years later to talk with someone I was in basic training with, it is clearly not a. Didn't happen by happenstance.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: Yeah. And he's not even from Houston, right?
[00:01:52] Speaker B: No, he's from, like, Pennsylvania or somewhere.
[00:01:54] Speaker A: So, yeah, I met him. Basic training.
The world goes around and then you're back.
It's just, I think one of the things that I like to do in the show is, you know, people need to be ready and open, right?
[00:02:06] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: So you were in the Air Force. You left the Air Force and then what did you do?
[00:02:11] Speaker B: So after I got out of the Air Force, I actually joined a third party 3 PL organization I worked with there for about a year.
From there.
So just so happened to this gentleman sitting next to me was at the Workhorse Center I was working there, and I was like, hey, I want to try do something a little bit different. And you happened to be there doing a presentation, and so Then from that presentation, I was very intrigued, interviewed and got hired, and it was awesome.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: You know what? I just.
I didn't even think about that. Okay. So, yeah, and one of my other shows, I was with Eubie Culberson from Culberson resource, and we talked about recruiting, but you never know how you get involved in people's lives, so. So then you went to work for FedEx.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: Yeah, I did.
[00:02:52] Speaker C: I worked for FedEx.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: We went fast through FedEx.
You left FedEx and now where you at?
[00:02:57] Speaker B: Now I'm at Daikin. And a lot of people didn't know who daikin was until here. Recently, daikin has placed their name on the.
Formerly known as minute maid park, now it's known as Daikin Park. And I've been there for 12 years. I'm a director of materials operations. And it's a joy and a pleasure every day to watch how a 10,000 pound coil of steel turns into an air conditioner for a residential or commercial property. So it's pretty awesome to see.
[00:03:28] Speaker A: So you do that as a career. So you work full time. You're really engaged. I know a lot of the people that work there, so they always speak very highly of you. But let's talk about the PBJ youth foundation. What happened with it? How did that happen?
[00:03:41] Speaker B: Yes, sir. So PBJ youth foundation actually was really kind of started. I'll call it. We made lemonade out of lemons.
I was a leader of an organization, and that organization decided not to really do as much for the youth. And so I kind of felt like the kids were abandoned, honestly. And so I was like, you know what? I'm gonna do something. And literally I talked with my wife and we were like, you know what? We'll just fund it ourselves. Our first event was at main event.
We did some bowling. We just had fun. We was like, hey, let's just get the kids out. I always give a positive message. One important thing about PBJ is we're all about life skills and teaching our youth in a very controlled and safe way. A lot of times kids are exposed to a lot of things, and with social media and things of that nature, it's not always presented in the right manner and maybe a little bit more mature for the audience. And so we want to make sure at PBJ Youth foundation, we introduced these life skills, expose the youth. And so that's pretty much how PBJ started. It was just out of a bad situation, and it has grown and blossomed. We started in June of 2020. 2. And here we are today. I mean, just amazing. Our first year, we were able to give out $4,000 in scholarships. I mean, to me, I was just. It's unheard of, truly. God was in the work of us being able to do that. And so, yeah, so that's how we started.
[00:05:06] Speaker A: So tell me about the youth. I mean, where are the youth coming from?
[00:05:10] Speaker B: Yeah, so our youth, basically, we target underprivileged and underrepresented youth, but my wife always kind of gets on to me because I never turn any youth away. I don't care what shade of color or creed.
We love the youth because they are our future. But we do target our at risk youth. We work with low property, low income apartments and things of that nature in the north side of Houston.
And that's how we get our kids.
[00:05:40] Speaker A: And then I remember us talking one time and I think you had a celebrity chef come.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: I did, I did. So just so happened, my best friend introduced me to Chef Roshni. And so our first event in I think that was 2024, for that year we had celebrity chef Roshni. Chef Roshni has been on Beat Bobby Buffet. She's been on Chop, she's been on Hell's Kitchen. So she is a fantastic chef. Her food is great. And she honestly just volunteered. She didn't charge us anything to come out. And we had about 50 kids. And she taught the kids how to make spaghetti from scratch. And it was amazing. What was so funny about the situation was some of the parents didn't even know how to do it, so they actually were learning while the kids were learning. So absolutely, it was a great event.
[00:06:29] Speaker A: And you were saying controlled environment. How do you mean, controlled environment?
[00:06:32] Speaker B: Yeah, so what I mean by controlled environment is basically you want to make sure that it's safe, right? There's content and there's a level of exposure that we really want the youth to be able to pay attention, be at their level of understanding. Right.
If you give it to them and it's way beyond. We're talking physics and chemistry.
[00:06:53] Speaker C: Right.
[00:06:53] Speaker B: And we're talking to a 10 year old, they're not really going to be able to understand that. But if we talk arithmetic, multiplication, they may understand it, just for example. So we try to make sure that it's tailored to the audience.
[00:07:03] Speaker A: Okay, what is some of the feedback you get from the parents?
[00:07:08] Speaker B: Oh, I mean, the parents love it. So one thing I really definitely pride pbj youth foundation on is 100% of our events are free. Our sponsors and we Raise. And there's a lot of people who are very. They see the work that's being done, and so they donate. So we gratefully, we've been able to have every event free of charge. So our parents, our youth, all who participate, it's free of charge.
And so that's one thing that I really pride. But we host events. We do a lot of stuff. We teach life skills, things of that nature.
[00:07:42] Speaker A: What are some of the life skills that you feel are important?
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Yeah. So absolutely, we actually partnered with Amrit Bank. We taught the kids financial literacy. It's something kind of near and dear to me. It's important. I don't know that our school system does the best job at teaching our youth how to balance a checkbook or how to understand how to invest in stock and opening up an IRA and things of that nature. And so we partnered with Emirate Bank. We taught financial literacy. We partnered with Chef Roshni. We taught the youth how to cook.
We've done camps. We take the kids out. We partner with Texas park and Wildlife. We've gone out and taught the kids how to build a tent, how to fish, how to hike.
We went to NASA. We had a few kids that actually want to be an astronaut. So we're always just exposing the youth to the possibilities of life. I think it's so important that growing up, you know, I'm born and raised in Houston, Texas, and I don't know that I would have chose the career path I went had I known a little bit more.
[00:08:41] Speaker C: Right.
[00:08:41] Speaker B: You know, most parents are like, oh, I want you to be a doctor. I want you to be a lawyer. And really what those parents are saying is, I want you to be financially stable. I want you to be safe.
[00:08:48] Speaker C: Right?
[00:08:49] Speaker B: But you can be financially stable and safe doing a trade.
[00:08:52] Speaker C: Right.
[00:08:52] Speaker B: And you don't have to go to college. You can learn how to be an H. Vac Tech, or you can learn how to will and make great money and be able to provide for your family. So our role and our goal is to ensure our youth are exposed to the possibilities.
[00:09:04] Speaker A: Well, you know, the thing that you said that really spiked me was, you know, even as a trade, you can eventually own your own business in that trade, right?
[00:09:14] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:09:14] Speaker A: So. And you can do and make as much as the doctors or surgeons or everything else. So it's really amazing in today's world, the opportunities and possibilities here, right?
[00:09:24] Speaker B: No, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, again, like I say, it's all about exposure. A lot of our youth, you know, they may see some things on social media. A lot of times they watch their parents and see what type of work they do and maybe feel like it's the family tradition so they want to continue it and. And maybe not know that, hey, there are possibilities to have a job that's really not a job, it's a joy to do and that be your career. I mean, what. What better way to live than like not have to go to work? Is having fun every day.
[00:09:53] Speaker A: No, I totally agree with that. I mean, I'm all about fun. I think that's what makes my wife the most upset. You know, it's all about the fun. So real fast, before we go into the commercial, tell me how somebody can donate to your organization.
[00:10:06] Speaker B: Absolutely. Yeah. So we're on. Our website is www.pbjyouthfoundation.org on there? There's a donation tab that you can give. And we're also with Zell. It's my email address. It's brandonbjuouthfoundation.org so yeah, they definitely can do that and go on the site.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: Is this the website right now?
[00:10:28] Speaker B: Yes, sir, it's the site right there. And at the very top, you see donate now and you're able to go in and securely give a donation. We are a 501c3 foundation, so your donations are tax deductible.
[00:10:42] Speaker A: Okay, so. And don't you have some place right now or you have an organization that if somebody donates, they're gonna match it?
[00:10:49] Speaker B: Yeah, so I just, I just recently found this out. Last week we were at a. An event and one of our.
I know, I want to talk about this. That your network is so important.
And so one of my old co workers who gone to work at a different company actually connected with his company and they just made a substantial donation ppelc. So thank you guys so much. But they informed me about. I believe it's called Benavie is the name. I may be pronouncing it incorrectly, but you're able to go as an. As a 501c3 nonprofit, you're able to log on to that site and there are corporations that will actually match the donations of the employees. And so we just found out about this opportunity and so we're really grateful that this is taking place.
[00:11:35] Speaker A: Well, Brandon, it's been a pleasure so far. We're getting ready to go into a commercial. But I love the fact that in these 20 years where you've come and the great things you're doing for our youth. We'll be right back after this commercial.
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This is a great way for you to meet and connect with our guests and have some fun. We're back with Brandon Stubblefield. He is the founder of the PBJ Youth foundation. And welcome back.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: Thank you so much, Ricky.
[00:12:33] Speaker A: Alright, so we talked about all the things that your foundation is doing for the youth and I know we talked a little bit about mentorship, right?
[00:12:43] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:12:45] Speaker A: And talking with these young kids, is there ever some challenges where they think they know everything? They, they're not ready to, to give in or they just don't know why?
So what do you talk about that?
[00:12:56] Speaker B: Yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, you know, kids, you know, they're, you have some 10 year olds and they think they, they've been around for 40 years, right? And so understanding that, that that's how long they've been alive. And so that's is this is what they know. And so they, they think that this is what life is all about. And so it's important, you know, to instill love and instill that, hey, look, you still got a long way to go. I remember growing up, you know, a lot of people would, oh, you're young. And it's funny now as I'm older, I'm telling you, well, you're young, you got a long way to go.
[00:13:26] Speaker C: Right?
[00:13:26] Speaker B: But yeah, absolutely. I've met some youth and some participants that we've had that you know, need a little mentorship, need a little bit of love.
It's amazing.
I had one person in particular, as I'm talking, thinking about Darnell, he came up, I don't believe any of his family ever graduated college.
This young man, I caught him at about 12 years old and in speaking with him, he just blossomed like he absorbed what I was saying. And it was like to me, it was well worth it. He graduated honors, he's able to go to college and all that. So it's amazing to be able to do that and see it.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: So, you know, being in the military, we always definitely install mentorship. We call it a different leadership, mentorship, whatever and then coming in corporate America when you got into FedEx, I mean, to learn the job, there was people doing the job, people doing good at the job and people wanting to help you. And how did, how did you find your mentor? And what was that interaction like?
[00:14:33] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So it's amazing. You never know how valuable your network is. I mean, I'm sitting here today because of my network, right. So Ricky, you're a mentor to me. I mean, I definitely look at you like a father figure for sure. We've had some in depth conversations.
You were there with me when, you know, when I went through a very tragic situation.
[00:14:54] Speaker A: I remember that man.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
And your love and your career. You pulled me out of a bad spot even, you know, but, but it's important. Just look at your network. A lot of times people feel like they need, you know, they want to go talk to the CEO of a company or they want to go talk to the president or something. And honestly, just around you, you don't realize how valuable just the people that you know. It could be a parent, it could be a teacher, it could be a counselor at school, it could be someone at the counter while you purchase some food or at the grocery store, or you just never discredit the source. There's a scripture that says, out of the mouth of babes. So there's wisdom found everywhere. And so it's important that we don't discredit people or overlook people because we're like, oh, I don't think they are able to. And you'll be surprised if you just ask questions, sit down, have a conversation and ask. It's a lot to you to be able to find out and be able to be better.
[00:15:48] Speaker A: I think I totally love that and I know all of our conversations and I really appreciated the opportunities I got when with, with you.
I think one of the cool things is people are always looking for instant gratification. And the reality is I tell my team, it's not that person. It's not finding that person. It's finding that person that knows the person that needs to know you.
[00:16:11] Speaker B: Absolutely. I mean, and today we live in like a microwave society. You know, we want a:30 and we want to have a million dollars, be the CEO, have our own boat and travel the world.
[00:16:22] Speaker C: Right?
[00:16:22] Speaker B: And truth be told, I mean it, endurance, I mean the race is not given to the swift or the strong, but to the one that endures. And so in life you're going to go through things, you're going to deal with Stuff. And if you're looking for that instant gratification, you're going to be disappointed. And it's just kind of a reality.
Not saying that, hey, you can't have fun and enjoy a moment. No, there's nothing wrong with that, and you should. But if you have a goal, your goal is going to take time. You know, a lot of times I, as I mentor our youth, I let them know, hey, look, if it took you two days to earn this money, right, that means in two days that money could be gone. But if you, it took you 20 or 30 years to get to the point where you are, it'll take 20 or 30 years to lose it.
[00:17:02] Speaker C: All right?
[00:17:02] Speaker B: And so it's important to know that there's no shortcuts to discipline, endurance, and having to push even when you don't want to.
And I think it's a valuable lesson.
[00:17:14] Speaker A: So if you were talking to, now you talk to youth a lot. So what about the mid level, you know, the high schooler teenager? You know, they're still our youth, but, you know, 18 to 25. What would you share with them and how could they even help you?
[00:17:29] Speaker B: Yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah. So we're always looking for volunteers. We're constantly going places, doing things. We provide the transportation. So having chaperones and even mentors would be great. I mean, our youth need it. They could, they can receive it from, from especially someone closer to age. A lot of times, you know, youth feel like, oh, well, you're old, you don't know. This a new day. And truth be told, there's nothing really new under the sun. It's the same thing, maybe, you know, a little bit enhanced with technology, but in essence, it's the same thing. And so, yeah, so we call it the, the teenagers, the young adults. We definitely can use your help. Also, we do events for them as well. We're having a, we're hosting a movie event here in a little bit. And so, hey, why not come out, participate and enjoy?
[00:18:16] Speaker A: Watch movies.
[00:18:16] Speaker B: Yeah, watch a movie.
[00:18:17] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think that, you know, in real estate, I say that people go with people they like and trust. And I think youth is the same way, right?
[00:18:28] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely.
[00:18:28] Speaker A: You know, if they don't trust you, they're not going to listen, right?
[00:18:31] Speaker B: No. And I say this, I say my X factor is this. I don't have to care for these kids. And they know that. They're like, hey, you're not my relative, you're not my parent, you're not my guardian. And so for me to Sit down and spend time with them and actually hear them out and listen to them and give them advice and reason with them.
It's like I win them over every single time, but I'm doing it out of love. There's no hidden agenda. I genuinely care. And kids know, I mean, like, you don't have to someone to tell you, oh, I'm being genuine, then you kind of maybe question it. But kids see that, and they can see very quickly who truly cares and who truly doesn't. And so I think that's one of the X factors we have at pbj.
[00:19:13] Speaker A: And they'll call crap in a minute, won't they?
[00:19:15] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. They don't have a problem biting the tongue. Not biting the tongue. I'll let you know real quick.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: So what would you say to some of the parents out there that are looking for help? And I mean help. And I don't mean like they.
Asking for help is very scary for people, but knowing that asking for help is okay. How would you have that conversation with the people out here?
[00:19:36] Speaker B: Yeah, no, absolutely. So if I was talking to a parent, first things I'm going to say, hey, you know what? You don't know everything. Neither do I.
[00:19:43] Speaker C: Right.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: But collectively, we know a whole lot more than just by ourselves.
We're not always let the youth know, hey, we're not. You're not an island. Like, we're here together. We'll work together.
[00:19:54] Speaker A: But.
[00:19:54] Speaker B: But what it takes is courage. And it takes courage to be vulnerable to kind of say that, hey, I have a weakness, or, hey, I need help.
[00:20:01] Speaker C: Right?
[00:20:01] Speaker B: And a lot of times as a parent, you want to put on that facade like you have it all together because you don't want your kids to worry or fear. But the reality is the reality. And I think exposing them at a mature, at a level that's mature to help them understand, hey, there are bills in this house. And hey, mental health is a real thing and physical health is a real thing. And. And being able to allow your children to watch you along that journey as you get better and as you get the help will far better teach your children a lot more than just, I call it fronting and acting like nothing's wrong when really and truly we know that you need help.
[00:20:37] Speaker A: So it's all right to find a person that you feel that you can trust and share your story or share your challenges. And we don't say nothing's ever broken. We say there's always an opportunity.
[00:20:47] Speaker B: Right? Yes, sir. Absolutely.
[00:20:48] Speaker A: It's always an opportunity. Right?
[00:20:49] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:20:49] Speaker A: So we go find that person we share the opportunity with, because you never know where the solution is coming from, right?
[00:20:54] Speaker B: Yeah, you never know. And honestly, a lot, like, even with you, Ricky, there's things like I don't know your whole life story, Right. So in talking with you, you're able to kind of explain, oh, yeah, I've been in that situation before, and here's the way that I approached it and things of that nature. So we often get glimpses of people's lives. We really don't fully understand and know every situation that this person has been through. So being transparent and being a little bit vulnerable in front of them to say, hey, how I need help. And you never know, they may know someone who's able to help even further. So you just never know.
[00:21:25] Speaker A: So how many kids are in your organization right now?
[00:21:28] Speaker B: Yeah, so last year we catered to over 400 kids.
[00:21:32] Speaker C: Right.
[00:21:32] Speaker B: And so it just depends on the event. We normally do nine to ten events each year. Just kind of depends on funding and things of that nature. But, yeah, about 400 kids is what we touched last year.
[00:21:42] Speaker A: And so you. They're in the north side, typically.
What about now here in Houston, if somebody reached out to you, and I'm probably get you trouble with your wife right now because they should just reach out to you, huh?
[00:21:55] Speaker B: Absolutely. And speaking of that, we just actually, last month we were in Jackson, Mississippi, and we had 26 kids, and we did a camp and taught the kids life skill. We talked about bullying, we taught them how to build tents, we taught them how to fish, we even taught them how to go hiking outside. So we're not limited to Houston. We've done it in another state already.
[00:22:15] Speaker A: And so you talked to me. I think I remember you saying something about the partnership with that group down there.
[00:22:20] Speaker B: Yes, yes, absolutely. Yeah. And again, it's network, right? People see, we're on Facebook, we're on LinkedIn, we have our website.
We also on YouTube.
[00:22:29] Speaker C: Right.
[00:22:29] Speaker B: And so people saw the work that we're doing and they were like, hey, we want this. And actually, from that event that we had in Mississippi, there's a group in Atlanta that's looking to reach out to us. So it's just a blessing, but again, it's networking. And when you do, I'll say this, if you're doing what you're really called to do, the doors opportunity is amazing.
[00:22:49] Speaker A: And I know one thing about you, the one thing I've always admired about you, is when you didn't know or when you were unsure about maybe a direction. You were always open to hearing what other people had to say, taking that information together and making the decision on your own. And that's where I think a lot of people struggle. They just want to make the information without all the information.
[00:23:13] Speaker B: Yeah, no, absolutely. I think a lot of people struggle with perfectionism. I can tell you, I still somewhat struggle with it.
[00:23:18] Speaker C: Right.
[00:23:18] Speaker B: Because you never want to make a mistake. You always want to be right, or you don't want to cause undue hurt or harm. And I think it's important that we understand that, hey, we're human. You're gonna make mistakes. It's not the end of the world.
[00:23:32] Speaker C: Right.
[00:23:33] Speaker B: But being able to reach out and say, hey, I need help. The amount of courage that it takes for someone to raise their hand and say, I need help. I have mad respect for that. Again, you have to be vulnerable. It's not a comfortable place. But again, in life, it's not gonna always be a cakewalk.
[00:23:49] Speaker C: Right.
[00:23:50] Speaker B: Sometimes you're gonna have to struggle. I'm an avid. I work out, I run, I ride bikes. I do the MS.150 every year. And riding 75 miles in one day, yeah, it's tiresome. And some moments I'm like, I want to give up. But guess what? I have an end goal in mind. I'm raising funds to help those that are suffering. So I'm going to continue because there's some people who don't even have the opportunity. They don't have the ability to even ride a bike. And so it's having that motivation and understanding that end goal is what I would say is what will help drive being vulnerable and asking for help.
[00:24:23] Speaker A: We'll be right back with the next. During the next commercial.
See you right back.
Welcome back to battle. Ready have Brandon Stubblefield. He's the founder of the PBJ Youth Foundation. Welcome back, Brandon.
[00:24:43] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:24:44] Speaker A: Thank you. So we've been talking about mentorship, networking.
So what was one of the challenges you feel that is really facing our youth?
[00:24:55] Speaker B: Yeah, so, again, I think it's exposure. You know, growing up, you know, Internet wasn't a big thing when I was growing up. When I was in school, it wasn't until maybe high school, like last year, that, you know, we kind of had computer, individual computers. Before, you'd have to go to computer lab and share it. Where now we have smartphones, we have tablets, and all this stimulation to where they're just exposed to so much. I mean, whatever they want to know about, it's pretty much out there. On the Internet. And so it's important that we kind of drive that exposure and ensure that it's done in a, in a proper and age appropriate way.
[00:25:35] Speaker A: How can someone protect their mindset when they can't control what they're around?
[00:25:39] Speaker B: Yeah, so I been there before. Sometimes you're in situations where you can't control. Maybe you have a parent who maybe as a supporter, but maybe they have their own hang ups and dealings and challenges and it's reality, right?
So to me, the most important thing that no one can ever take away from you is your education and your mindset. So reading books, doing research and finding out things that will help you to be better to me is a great start.
One thing that I'm a huge advocate of as well is journaling, like capturing our thoughts.
Because a lot of times as you journal and capture, you'll see a pattern, right? There may be something that happened that caused you to think a certain way. And so I think it's important that you educate yourself, expose yourself to better thoughts and better ways of handling life.
[00:26:30] Speaker A: You know, I think journaling is really good. I know there's a book that I read, the Miracle Morning, and one of them is scribing and it's, you know, put your thoughts down, everything. And if you keep track of them when you come back and let's say you're having a rough time and you want to go back to when you were having a good time and you go to that time and look in your journal, it kind of helps you, right?
[00:26:49] Speaker B: No, absolutely. Yeah. Because life is going to life, right? The sun isn't always shining. And so, yeah, actually reflecting back and retrospectively looking at, hey, those times when you did feel most alive, right. Is important because along this journey, just like I was speaking of riding a bike, right? Riding 75 miles in one day, you get tired, right? But again, you need that fuel, that motivation. What's driving me even to be here, right? So why do I care to be on the road in this hot sun, right? And it's because, hey, I got an end goal in mind. And so with that, it's going to help you and give you the courage to keep going when life gets tough.
[00:27:24] Speaker A: And why is it important, you think, for maybe the parents to set boundaries and maybe even for the kids to set boundaries. So how does that.
[00:27:34] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So setting boundaries, it's all about you. A lot of times, you know, you hear people say, oh, I'm setting boundaries and you're trying to control people's behavior. Setting boundaries is all about actually you and controlling your behavior. How am I going to show up in the world? How am I going to respond? Right. Am I going to do my homework? Am I going to obey my parents? Am I going to do my chores? Or am I going to be disobedient? Am I going to not do my homework and so suffer the consequences? So setting boundaries is super duper important.
But again, it starts with you. I think about all the training that I've gone through and things that I've done in the corporate world as well as through my nonprofit. And a lot of it has to do with just learning who you really are.
[00:28:16] Speaker C: Right.
[00:28:17] Speaker B: Leadership is about learning who I am and how I respond. And so it's important that we do that.
[00:28:23] Speaker A: So with the youth, you got to learn about them also and how they respond.
And I'm assuming each of them responds differently.
[00:28:31] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. There's no universal way. As unique as everyone's fingerprint is.
[00:28:35] Speaker C: Right.
[00:28:36] Speaker B: We all are unique. So there's no universal way to approach a child. Some children are extroverted and so they like to talk and say things. Some are introverted and so they're not going to talk as much.
[00:28:46] Speaker C: Right.
[00:28:46] Speaker B: And so it's meeting them where they are is the most important thing.
And I will call it the X factor as well. Understanding that is so important.
Some parents that have multiple children, you know that the oldest child acts a certain way, maybe the youngest acts another way.
[00:29:01] Speaker C: Right.
[00:29:01] Speaker B: And so you can't necessarily treat them exactly the same because they're different individuals.
[00:29:07] Speaker A: So let's go back to the boundaries part. In today's high tech world, I mean, I feel like I see the parents and definitely not passing judgment, you know, using the iPhone, the phones, the tablets and everything to like babysit.
[00:29:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:24] Speaker A: So how does that affect, how do you, how do your people, how do your kids come to you and, and, and they're. You keep them off their phones.
[00:29:31] Speaker B: Yeah. So one thing is like when we have camps, we, we let the parents know straight up at the very beginning, we're taking phones away. Like we're outside. We're going to learn, we're going to enjoy. And it's amazing that, you know, maybe the first hour the kids are like acting like it's the end of the world.
And by hour two, you swear they didn't know what a phone was because they're enjoying themselves, they're in the moment. So I think it's important. We had an event not too long ago talking about social media hygiene.
[00:29:58] Speaker C: Right.
[00:29:59] Speaker B: Because it's something that we need to talk about, right? There's certain things that should be posted and there's certain things that should not be posted, right? There's cyberbullying, there's all these other aspects and new things that because of this technology that parents may not really understand. Again, like I say, growing up, I didn't have the Internet like that, right? And cell phones, like, wasn't a thing. So now we have smartphones, tablets, and three year olds that can use an iPad better than myself, right? So it's important that we expose our children. We teach them, we set those boundaries, we let them know, hey, look, there should be a time limit. You shouldn't be on your phone 50% of your day. There's homework you need to do. You got to get your rest. Should be exercising things of that nature.
[00:30:41] Speaker A: You know, this is going to be funny. I'm going to really show myself here. So I saw Hallmark show, okay, a while back, and in this show, this single parent dad had his two kids in the car and he met this lady and they were driving, they just. And she went to the house to a meeting with him. And they got to the house and the kids jumped up like, okay, dad, we'll get all the chores done and we'll let you know when we're done. They went running out and she was like, in shock, right? So she looked at him like, what just happened? She's like, well, I change my password on the Internet every day, and in order for them to get the password, they got to get their stuff done. What do you think about that? Is that crazy or what?
[00:31:22] Speaker B: No, I think it's a pretty sharp idea. I think that's pretty intuitive or ingenious, I would say.
[00:31:29] Speaker A: I think you have to get through the initial shock with the kids. But I mean, honestly, everything can be trained, right?
[00:31:35] Speaker B: Absolutely.
Our youth, as parents, it's our responsibility to raise our youth and to guide them in the way that they should go, right? And not just kind of let life happen or just kind of just whatever, right? We need to be intentional. Just like when we set goals for our lives, we need to be setting goals for our children as well and help them and let them be a part of that process so that that way when they become adults, they understand exactly what to do. There's a famous quote by Frederick Douglass that says, it's easier to fix a child than it is to fix a broken man. And so it's so important with our youth that we start when they're young. And I Know, a lot of times parents want to protect their kids because that's their duty. But again, you don't want to be the helicopter parent or hinder their exposure to where now they're crippled when they. Well, not crippled, but they're lacking when they get out in the real world.
[00:32:31] Speaker A: And so you talking about the helicopter parent, but what about the parent in today's society where, I mean, dual income families living a certain style, working a lot, and then how do they help themselves get more involved?
[00:32:45] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's important that we focus on our youth.
I get it.
In society today a lot of times you can't afford to live without both parents working.
And so it's tough. It's about balancing.
[00:33:00] Speaker C: Right.
[00:33:00] Speaker B: But again, what is our priority? Is our priority having material things or is our priority instilling values and morals into our children so that when they grow up they can continue that legacy? And so it's a choice.
[00:33:16] Speaker C: Right?
[00:33:17] Speaker B: I mean, everyone has 24 hours in a day. There's no one that has less.
[00:33:21] Speaker C: Right.
[00:33:21] Speaker B: We all get 24 hours. It's up to us to decide how we use those 24 hours. And I'm not saying that you need to spend three hours a day with your, with your children, but what I'm saying is you need to make intentional time without the tablets, without technology, to get to know who your children are. What are they exposed to? You never, you just never know. So it's important that we do that.
[00:33:40] Speaker A: I do see that at one time I felt like everybody, every kid I saw was with a phone, a tablet. And I think I've been consciously looking around. I see now there's more parents that are putting that aside, making them get involved in sports, making them get involved in all these things. I remember my daughters, before they could date, I made them take martial arts. And they did not care for me at all. And then, you know, it's like they had to go to go three times a week fighting a tournament before they could date. And they're like, I don't want to do this. And you know, be Friday night I'm gonna go out. Like, did you go three times? They'd go upstairs, get their stuff, go, go work out, and then come back and then go out. But then they made their kids do it. So going back to what you said, you know, it's like, they may not like it today, but they're gonna be kind of the same.
[00:34:30] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree. As parents, it's not our responsibility to be our children's friends.
It is so Important that we instill the values. We instill those morals and those things that are going to teach them discipline.
[00:34:42] Speaker C: Right.
[00:34:42] Speaker B: Because life is about discipline. We've got to prioritize. We got a lot of stuff going on. And so by you forcing, you know.
[00:34:50] Speaker A: Your girls to go.
[00:34:53] Speaker B: But again, there was a more. There was a motive behind it.
[00:34:56] Speaker C: Right?
[00:34:56] Speaker B: Because we want. We don't want them to be in a bad situation. So if they know how to defend themselves, if they, you know, God forbid, we don't want them to be. But they'll be able to handle it.
[00:35:05] Speaker A: I just want them to be able to surprise the crap out of somebody stuck at run. You know what I mean? I didn't know, I don't know that they could beat up on a guy or anything, but I just want them surprised. It just made me feel better. I don't know if it had anything really to do with them. Just made me feel better, but. And what are some of the things or some of the tools out there that parents can use to help their kids?
[00:35:23] Speaker B: Yeah, so there's a ton of information just available at the click of a button on in the Internet. You can do a quick Google search or things of that nature. There's a lot of books out there that speak about it.
Hey, PBJ Youth foundation, bring your youth to us. We're teaching life skills. We're teaching them about life. So bring them. And like I say, it's free of charge.
[00:35:45] Speaker A: Are there parents? They can be involved in it. They can come show. Wait, how's that? Do they drop them off? What do they do?
[00:35:50] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. So I highly encourage our parents to be there because these experiences had mutually is amazing. And just speaking about that camp in Jackson, we got a picture later from one of the grandparents that was there with their grandchild.
And the young lady won a tent. We gave away some tents and she won a tent. And the next weekend she did a.
[00:36:16] Speaker C: Camp out at her house.
[00:36:17] Speaker B: Now, granted, it was indoors.
[00:36:19] Speaker A: Hey, it worked, right?
[00:36:20] Speaker B: But it worked and it showed. And we also taught them how to cook outdoors. And this grandchild did the same thing. She cooked what we cooked. So you think sometimes that your kids aren't listening or they're not watching, but I'm telling you, that was case in point. So, yeah, absolutely, we encourage the parents to be there so they can know what's being taught, so they can then continue to instill it at home because PBJ is going to be there for that event.
[00:36:43] Speaker C: Right.
[00:36:44] Speaker B: That's maybe a couple hours, four or five hours. But you got to go back home. So what are we going to do when we go back home? So. So it's important that the parents be there.
[00:36:52] Speaker A: We'll talk more about this with Brandon Stubberfield of PBJ Youth foundation when we get back.
Welcome back to Battle Ready. If you're loving what you're watching, don't miss a moment of Battle Ready or any of the other favorite NOW Media TV shows. Live or on demand, anytime, anywhere, or all you have to do is Download the free Now Media app and TV app on Roku or iOS and you can also enjoy instant access to your full lineup of bilingual English and Spanish station channels. You also can go if you want to listen to podcasts while you're in the car. You just download the NOW Media TV app and you can listen to it right away. We're here again, final time with Brandon Stubblefield.
He's the owner, founder, all the good accolades of the PBJ Youth Foundation. Welcome back.
[00:37:47] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:37:48] Speaker A: So we talked a little bit about youth mentorship, some of the things, but we haven't really talked a lot about donating. Right. So let's pull up the site real fast and see what the site looks like again out here.
And I think it's coming soon. We're going to see show how easy it is to come up on the site and actually donate.
There we go. Is this it?
[00:38:14] Speaker B: That's it. That's it.
[00:38:15] Speaker A: All right. So I think our guy Apollo, he runs our office here.
He's the eyes and ears of everything here. You're gonna go ahead and pop it up and can everybody see this out there? Apollo?
Yeah, so you can just click on it.
And it's 501.3C.
[00:38:33] Speaker B: Yeah. 5013C. So all the donations are tax deductible, of course, obviously, if you meet the requirements for IRS. But yes, we are 501c.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: Yeah. So there you go. Look, everybody popping in numbers. You fill out your information. You can do it and get actually, but you'll get a receipt from this site right away. But you can actually come out here and put some money in here and help out a youth. And you know, it's funny, the viewership from our. From our last show, I heard was right at a little over a million five. Man, if everybody put in $1.
[00:39:05] Speaker B: Wow, that'd be amazing.
[00:39:07] Speaker A: Do you see how many youth you have? You already helped in 400. And I will say this, you know, I do know early on I remember us talking about this journey for you, and I'm Talking about early when you started it. And I remember doing the domino tournament for you.
[00:39:21] Speaker C: Right.
[00:39:22] Speaker A: And we put a domino tournament together, and all the proceeds went, and.
Because I knew that you were doing everything out of your pocket.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
[00:39:31] Speaker A: And now, you know, I'm a karma person. It's all about karma. And I know you are much more spiritual, and you help me a lot of times with that. But you get what you give, right?
[00:39:42] Speaker B: Absolutely. You reap what you sow. And so it's so important that, you know, in life, you know, we're not here, you know, it's okay to be. To want things.
[00:39:52] Speaker C: Right.
[00:39:52] Speaker B: But it's so important to help others.
[00:39:53] Speaker C: Right.
[00:39:54] Speaker B: It's more blessed to give than it is to receive. And so, you know, with PBJ Youth foundation, again, these donations, we get 100% go to the kids. I have a job, My wife has a job. This money that we raise goes 100% to our youth, and we use it for the funding and so that they don't have to pay for these experiences.
[00:40:13] Speaker A: Okay, so what kind of feedback you've been getting from the parents? Have you ever had negative feedback?
[00:40:18] Speaker B: You know, I can't say that we've had negative feedback. We've had some opportunities.
One event we had, we actually went to the Houston Astros. So we bought some tickets. It was probably about 30% of the youth was their very first time ever going to the Houston Astros.
And so we.
With the food, it was a little kind of difficult because we didn't really orchestrate it.
[00:40:42] Speaker C: Right.
[00:40:42] Speaker B: I would say that's probably the worst thing.
[00:40:44] Speaker C: Right.
[00:40:44] Speaker B: They were able to eat. Nobody didn't miss. But we kind of. It wasn't as organized as it could have been. And so we took that as a lesson learned. And going forward, we have a lot better protocol and logistics ready for the food.
[00:40:55] Speaker A: You know, it's funny because both of us from the military and we used to have meetings. To have meetings, to do this, to have meetings.
[00:41:00] Speaker B: Right, right.
[00:41:01] Speaker A: And then we didn't understand about all these meetings, why we're having them. And then I look back at it now, and I remember one event that we had that we had meetings because we knew we were gonna have a lot of people just about how to set up the lines to feed them.
[00:41:20] Speaker C: Right, right.
[00:41:21] Speaker B: No, it's important. I mean, when, you know, we were having an event, our event, we went to NASA. We had 94 participants.
[00:41:27] Speaker C: Right.
[00:41:28] Speaker B: And so we have to arrange logistics, getting the transportation together. We had to get the food together. And, like, getting all that it really is a huge task.
[00:41:38] Speaker C: Right.
[00:41:39] Speaker B: But again, we have great volunteers. Our board is most wonderful people in the world. Thank you so much.
I always try to show them love because they show, you know, they take care of business. Yeah, no doubt. They help and bring ideas and so, yeah, bringing it together. You know, I always think about the analogy of the iceberg.
[00:41:56] Speaker C: Right.
[00:41:57] Speaker B: You only see about 10% of what an iceberg is. So the youth, as they see the event, that's really only about 10% of what it took to actually put that event together. So, yeah, absolutely important.
[00:42:08] Speaker A: So tell me how people can get involved in the pbj.
[00:42:14] Speaker B: Yeah, no, absolutely. So we have events just about once a month. On a Saturday, we have an event. We always post it on our Facebook website, as well as Instagram and LinkedIn. So if you want to come and participate, by all means, we'll post that out there and let you know.
But hey, if you can't be there, because we understand you got donation, maybe you don't. Maybe you're not in Houston. But by you giving your donation, you're helping us to ensure that we're able to help. And what better way to give back than to our youth? They're our future, and it's so important that we invest in them.
[00:42:48] Speaker A: And, you know, we talk about. Always in donations. Many times we talk about money, but, I mean, time is a big donation.
[00:42:55] Speaker B: No, absolutely. Volunteer if you want to come and help us, please reach out to me. My information is there on the website.
By all means. We'll be more than happy to help, to allow you to come and be a part of our family and to join. Yeah, it's super important.
[00:43:10] Speaker A: Boys and girls.
[00:43:11] Speaker B: Boys, girls, grandmas, grandpas, whoever.
[00:43:15] Speaker A: Just everybody. Right. And so is this some of the pictures of what's going on in there?
[00:43:22] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So that was, you know, that was. That was our first event, our first annual scholarship event. It was amazing. That was when Chef Roshani came and taught the kids to cook.
So, yeah, many, many photos, like I said. You check out our website. Yeah, that was the event there. We gave out $4,000 in scholarships there. So just. There it is right there. Yeah. So just amazing, you know, the things that we're doing. And again, we're investing in our youth. They're out tomorrow.
[00:43:50] Speaker A: And one thing I know about you is you have a person, amazing integrity.
And I always love your choices. Right. And I can remember a lot of our conversations. Why is living with integrity one of the world's most powerful tools?
[00:44:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Integrity is so important.
You know, I think about when I was in the Air Force, one of our core value was integrity first.
[00:44:15] Speaker C: Right.
[00:44:15] Speaker B: And so why is integrity? What is integrity?
[00:44:18] Speaker C: Right.
[00:44:18] Speaker B: And we, we summated it as doing what's right when no one's looking.
[00:44:23] Speaker A: Hundred percent.
[00:44:24] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, and so it's so important that you operate because to me, this is what I always say when I go home, I want to be able to lay my head down and know that I've done what I was supposed to do.
[00:44:36] Speaker C: Right.
[00:44:37] Speaker B: So integrity is saying, hey, we're going to ensure that we do what's right and what's best for the greater good of people. And that we're going to abide by the laws, we're going to abide by the rules. And if we say we're going to do something, we have a mission, we have a vision, we're going to stick to that mission and vision because it's the right thing to do.
[00:44:54] Speaker A: And that's a lot of hardness. I mean, people have to have some really good conversations with themselves, right?
[00:45:00] Speaker B: No, absolutely. It's not easy. It's not easy. Again, like I say, I'm an avid workout. I love working out. This morning I ran a little over 5k.
[00:45:08] Speaker C: Right.
[00:45:08] Speaker B: And so having that discipline and I really believe the military instilled that into me big time.
[00:45:13] Speaker C: Right.
[00:45:14] Speaker B: We had to work out, and obviously the reason we needed to be in shape because we had to be battle ready.
[00:45:18] Speaker C: Right.
[00:45:19] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:45:20] Speaker B: Battle ready.
[00:45:20] Speaker C: Right.
[00:45:21] Speaker B: So in order. You don't prepare for war during the war, you have to prepare for war during peace. And just in case, if war does break out now, I'm prepared. You don't wait till something bad goes wrong to begin preparing yourself.
[00:45:36] Speaker C: Right.
[00:45:36] Speaker B: And so I believe having integrity and sticking to your morals and standards is super important. The youth are watching. And if I, as a leader of pbj, am posting inappropriate things or I'm on the news for because I broke the law, I did something wrong, what example am I sitting? These youth are looking up to me. And so it's super important. Like, that weight is on me every day. And I'm all right with that. I'm ready for that weight because I know how important it is to have integrity because I, again, I want to be able to go home at night and lay my head down and know that I did what was right.
[00:46:14] Speaker A: So, you know, I wanted to throw some at you real fast. So I always hear practice makes perfect. Yeah, practice makes perfect. So. And I was reading something and that dawned on me. It's not that practice that makes perfect. It's perfect. Practice makes perfect.
[00:46:32] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:46:32] Speaker A: Because if you're practicing something that's wrong.
[00:46:34] Speaker C: Right.
[00:46:35] Speaker A: You don't get perfect at the wrong thing.
[00:46:36] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:46:37] Speaker A: So how do you instill that in your kids?
[00:46:38] Speaker B: No, absolutely. Yeah. So, you know, I let the youth know, hey, your responsibility now if you're in school is to do your homework, do your assignments. Right. And if, if an A is. Is the. Is the goal, then we've got to do what it takes to be able to do that. So what that means is we're going to cut our phone off, we're going to study, we're going to, we're going to read the content and we're going to do our homework and we're going to be prepared for when that test comes so that we can make sure that we ace it.
[00:47:03] Speaker C: Right.
[00:47:03] Speaker B: Because that is your job.
[00:47:05] Speaker C: Right.
[00:47:06] Speaker B: And if you instill those behaviors and things now, today, when they become an adult, when they have to go into corporate America or when they run their own business, they'll be able to ensure that they are successful.
[00:47:19] Speaker A: You know, Brandon, it's been incredibly valuable. Where can people follow you again and your work?
Continue this conversation.
[00:47:25] Speaker B: Yes, sir. Yeah, so we'
[email protected]. we're also on Facebook, same handle pbjufoundation. We're on Instagram, we're on LinkedIn, and we're on YouTube as well.
[00:47:40] Speaker A: Brandon, thank you so much for sharing your story, your heart and your wisdom with us today. And man, it's been amazing for the viewers, I'm sure. I want you to remember, out there, being bad and ready isn't about never facing Harsham. It's about how you handle it and what you do and how you go with the fight. Remember, be battle ready and come join us at pbj.
[00:48:01] Speaker B: Yes, sir. Thank you so much, Ricky.
