Joe's Interviews
Miami Business Coach and Motivational Speaker, Joe Nichols interviews Lindsey Streeter VP Global Military Affairs Program Manager at Bank of America
Okay. Alright. So Mr Lindsey Streeter is from one of the big banks and, uh, Joseph Nichols, uh, a loving entrepreneur and speaker, uh, for inspiration for community. [00:00:30] Let Ryan Start Your questions.
Mrs Streeter. It is really a pleasure having the privilege of talking with you and she answered my ideas on a [inaudible].
Okay.
Yeah. And advancement and your constant accomplishment in the United States army as well as in public life and be like very much to see all you have accomplished your goals and perhaps you [00:01:00] can share some ideas on your accomplishment.
Okay.
sure. Hi John, it's a pleasure talking to you as well. And, uh, and I'll, I'll start by saying that, um, uh, some people look at my life and they consider it, uh, a successful one. I've just always looked to be, uh, as effective as I can. And so, uh, to kind of understand where I am today, you'd have to get an understanding of where I've come from. And [00:01:30] I, uh, I'm the fifth child of seven, uh, born to a set of sharecropper parents that, uh, left the tobacco fields in North Carolina in the 1950s and, uh, took a track and settled down in southeast DC. Um, and my father knew that, uh, he didn't have a lot to give us, but he wanted to provide an opportunity and getting us into a big city where there was [00:02:00] an established education system. There was an opportunity for advanced education and other opportunities would avail themselves in a larger city, in a larger setting.
Um, that was his vision. And so, uh, uh, I, I know that a lot of people that enjoy, um, successful careers and impactful lifestyles, they tend to have a story that, uh, that, that they tell that, [00:02:30] that has, that's laced with chasing a goal or, uh, mine is really not that way, I think. I think my effectiveness in life stems from the things that I was running from. There were a few things in life that I saw coming up that I, I wanted to avoid in the quest to avoid. Those things have landed me where I am tonight. And so those games were, uh, were drugs. Uh, I can't stand [00:03:00] them in any way, shape or form. Yes. You're talking to a guy that, uh, never been under the influence of anything and, uh, as only tasted alcohol at one time and it was on accident. So I've tried to avoid drugs at all costs. Um, definitely. Usually I want, yes, yes, yes. Yeah. A lot of folks don't, don't believe that I, and I, I, [00:03:30] I tried to avoid, I tried to avoid poverty, uh, at all costs because I grew up in, it's only extreme poverty, uh, uh, conditions and, uh, and I wanted to pursue education. I wanted to avoid ignorance.
Can I interrupt for a second? I left people thinking in terms of succession, everything you're talking about effectiveness. Can you please,
so effectiveness [00:04:00] is ever evolving. So, um, I got exposed to this, this ques, uh, for effectiveness. And when I got Bose to a mix of Stephen Covey and the seven habits of highly effective people. So I had a transition figure that into my life. A guy named Dave Swartzentruber that I work for who, uh, gave me a book to read and then sent me through, uh, the, the, uh, seven habits of highly effective [00:04:30] people. Course I didn't sent me through the facilitators course and put me on the road and teaching that material in 15 states. So what cubby did was cubby cubby, looked at the definition of success and he found that the definition changed depending on the call to you in, uh, and, and the country that you were in. But what didn't change was the definition of effectiveness, the ability to move the needle, the ability to change the environment around [00:05:00] you by concentrating on the things that you can impact as an individual.
And so his teachings are about self-empowerment, uh, which will then allow you to affect the environment and the situation around you. So as being good inside the box first before you start to affect things outside of the box. And so in teaching that material, if you convicted me to a point where I wanted to apply it to my personal life, and [00:05:30] that's when I got exposed to the personal mission statement workshop and understanding where I want it to end up in life. The things I wanted to avoid, things I wanted to be, the things I wanted to have and do, and then reverse engineering my life in a way that I character was in line and my actions were in line daily so that can live that life that I'm trying to strive to be. What's your property? You know? Um, so I, uh, [00:06:00] won. I won. I had not wanted to educate myself, you know, in the, in the area of finance so I can make proper decisions and choices. I, I wasn't, I wasn't earning a lot. I could do some things with, with the monies that I did that I was already, the other things is that I wanted to, uh, make sure that I was, I was qualified for greater opportunity, meaning qualified me, meaning, uh, putting myself in position with the education and a moral standing and a reputation that allowed people to take a chance [00:06:30] on me.
Did you ever had the wins, I have a statement coming at you and saying that you will never, ever accomplish anything in life when you, as a young kid.
Yeah. So in the, in the, uh, the neighborhood that I grew up, it was common place to hear that kind of language. Actually. Uh, I believe that language was what held back. Uh, my entire generation, [00:07:00] uh, the people that I grew up with that I'm still in contact with now, we're hindered by that very tall. But I thank God that I had, uh, I had parents there in the house. I had a, a at a hardworking father, uh, that set the example of work ethic. And I had a, I had a very spiritual mother that always told me things, told all of us, uh, that we could be, uh, that we had never thought that we could be.
So pharmacy [00:07:30] for example, and other people around me the entire time. So your father, your father was your mentor and your mother was your mentor or behind his name? To some extent? Yes sir. And what did you learn from them? You know, what kind of advice did they give? Did they give you,
my mother talked, talked a lot about, uh, about uh, not being defined [00:08:00] by your current situation. Not Aligned, not aligned, not aligned. The fact that you're growing up in low income housing in the housing project to define who you are, who you want to be later in life. Right. And my father always talked about operating in an arena that you find yourself in. So he would impart knowledge about, you know, you're going into the army, any and everybody can join the army, but you need to do something while you're in the [00:08:30] army. And he talked about the responsibility of your last name, your brand, and what I later would it would it later transcribed to be, but he talked about what do you want people to say when they talk about Lindsey Street and then you should align your actions with that definition that you came up with and you live that way. So I believe those are the biggest two takeaways. And then always be [00:09:00] mindful of persons that are less fortunate and I have a half an hour of, uh, uh, of empathy towards, or was that community and give back to it.
So by having the privilege of saying that you have promote the street and name gave me inspiration to continue trying to improve your lifestyle [inaudible] education as well.
Yeah. I, I, um, I, I have to say Joe. Um, I, um, [00:09:30] I believe that I'm the person that my father hopes he could be. God and I a and I, and I think I want to leave that same legacy for my sons.
Having had the experience of over the years, a lot of the people that are done to be listening to Joe as he passes on this kind of information, uh, are going to be you got lucky. You, you reported a poor place, but you [00:10:00] got lucky because you had parents that were role models and you had structure and they expect time to create some self esteem for you and, and separate you from the physical plant and teach you that you're not that. Now, a lot of the people that we're, uh, Joe's trying to reach are people who didn't hit the Jackpot, who didn't have the con, the role models. Some of them have none, some of them that one bear. But, uh, they need to be able to create [00:10:30] this for themselves. Uh, this pruning vision, better responsibility, power engine responsibility. So at some point, if they're ready to take on the responsibility of creating the person they want to be, uh, what I'm wanting is for you to be able to be their role model for them, which for Joe can be able to conserve what they didn't get as a kid. What are the, what are the elements of this? What can they, what are the, what are the things they can [00:11:00] create in themselves to supplement that? Well now over dating them so that they're not defined by the luck of the draw.
Yeah. So, so that's a great poll point. That's a great question. Um, you know that they have to, they have to begin their life with their end in mind. So it takes some imagination. Um, when I used to teach the mission statement workshop that there was this huge Aha moment that our participants [00:11:30] would have and they would range from age 22 years old up until their mid forties. And, um, so what we would do then to answer your question is we would, uh, we would spend some time creating the end of our life mentally. So we will, we would imagine ourselves at our funeral. And then at our funeral we would have prominent people, [00:12:00] people that we came in contact with throughout our lives, our approach to podium, say something about us there, a fond memory or what they know about us. And then we were captured those thoughts.
And those thoughts are actually your inner man speaking. Those carts are who you truly want to aspire to be. And you reverse engineer those thoughts and then you turn those, those, those statements until your personal mission statement and into action items [00:12:30] and into a plan and live your life that way. It's one of the most empowering things that I've ever done. And so everything, the guy that I bring out of the house every day, he's a planned guy. He's a, he's a person that in my imagination I want it to be. And I bring that guy out at a house and I showed that guy to the public. But at the end of my life I already notified the sixteens that are going to be said about me. If any other ones that said that, that's a plus. But I know [00:13:00] that five or six days that I created in myself that others are going to say about me.
So in, in that, in that vein, Mrs [inaudible], you are somewhat proud of your accomplishment. And one thing I read about you and you did a speech and I want you to pound on this quote, juice paid because this is something I want to cook in my presentation. You stated deed was always XP hours [00:13:30] and that fitness go inspirational. Can you somehow expound on that quote?
Yeah. You know, we're, we're, we're, uh, we're, we're creatures of, uh, of image. Uh, we, we like to see examples in ourselves and others and um, people may not remember what you've, uh, what you've said. Uh, they may not remember what exactly what it was that you [00:14:00] wrote, but they will remember the things that you did. Uh, no matter what religion you are, when you study religion and you study the individual examples, it's always about the things that they did. It's not a lot about the things that they said. Now, the things that they say we'll have, we'll add credibility. Only after people have seen things that they've done, they get that credibility of word. And so [00:14:30] your deeds, your actions will always exceed the words in my mind.
So your accomplishments really have a exceed version that you might have spoken about. And that the same time, uh, you have demonstrated your accomplishment and you know, being that you have accomplished. So I want to try and inform young men and young men, men and also kid that is an elementary school as well as high school. [00:15:00] The thing that you hadn't gone through and the thing that you have accomplished in spite of the obstacles that you have to face as well. And [inaudible] and I could say this, I'm very proud of the think that you have accomplished, does call. So if you had another chance to speak with someone or to a group of young men or young women, what would you stayed with them to make sure that they have [00:15:30] opportunity and willpower to accomplish their dean or their ambition?
Hey Joe. I am, I would tell him what my childhood buddy told me. My Buddy Eddie, uh, we reached a fork in the road, uh, and Eddie went left and I, and I went right. And, uh, and we've said to reconnected and on the backs out of the mountain there. And, uh, Eddie lived a life of drugs and crime. And one of the things that Eddie shared with me, [00:16:00] uh, at a young age was he told me, he said, Lindsey, you need to be careful of your now, your people, your places and your things. He said, you gotta you gotta avoid certain people and you got to put others in your life. You gotta put people that are aspiring to do things positive around you into your life or your circle. And then you have to avoid people that are going to the contrary. You have to avoid places. You have to avoid places that don't fit, [00:16:30] uh, into your lifestyle and don't fit into the character that you're striving to be. And then the things that you say and the things that you do and the things that you participate in, you have to be mindful of those as well.
My people, my places and my things are what I'm ever mindful of and I'm ever thankful to Eddie or Kevin, his buddy, that bit of advice.
Fantastic. So, in other words, Mr Streeter, you would advise [00:17:00] me to say to an individual than young people to surround yourself of like minds in order to accomplish your goal. Otherwise you can find yourself strain and going in a direction that may not be suitable for you and may also be, uh, somewhat detrimental to your lifestyle.
Yeah, absolutely Joe. And, and it also helps with peer pressure. The peer pressure becomes positive peer pressure because [00:17:30] you're all, like, you all are trying to accomplish things. So there's a different amount of PR, there's, there's positive peer pressure that keeps you on that track and there's also peer pressure that keeps you from going from going astray and doing things that don't align with those goals.
Definitely without a doubt. In fact, I had kind of the same thing when I was growing up and a variety in his day. Try Select, I knew people that have the same goals that I have and also learn from them and also surround myself with [00:18:00] people that I want to aspire to be as well. Even at this age, you know, so you have created, for example, a regimental sergeant major, you're talking about one got one job at a 3000 people and you have to rise it and you don't get, you don't get, uh, you know, go to school and come out and be, come on. You've gotta actually rise and you committee many, many years with lots and lots of hardworking candidates [00:18:30] to get there. I may not even have had that in mind, but, uh, this, um, one of the things that happened is a lot of people shut out with goals and these are very important things that you're talking about. But the confronting obstacles and having disappointed is what actually separates, uh, you know, my son wants to be a big league baseball player.
Started out in IMG where there's [00:19:00] a lot of great athletes, but almost none of them are playing baseball. They are already only junior in college and most of them are already by the word fell by the wayside even though they were great. So athletes feminine because they couldn't handle any setback, couldn't handle being a freshman and not starting, couldn't handle, uh, they couldn't handle striking out three times in a row. Uh, they, there are a lot of things that happened that you have, that's what [00:19:30] separates the men from the boys is not having the aspirations. It is how you'd make it through the chef backs, right?
Yes, absolutely. Uh, the resiliency, uh, the thing that I talked about down in, uh, down in Orlando a few weeks ago, you know, uh, it's me, I described myself as a, as that, that old tube of toothpaste. You know, you get you soon as you think I'm empty. I can, you can roll me up and apply though. [00:20:00] I'll give you a little bit more. Um, but, but yeah, I've always viewed a no, and you know, as I know as a k, n, O, W I was told no for one or two reasons. Either I didn't know something or I was missing a skillset that didn't put me in position, so I wasn't qualified or they didn't know something about me. In other words, my brand when they thought of Lindsey street or they didn't think of me that [00:20:30] way. So there was, there was a, there was a, there was a missing element of knowledge either way, uh, that shut that door. And I just wanted to know what that missing information was. The next money opportunities in the belt itself. I was, I was qualified.
So what would be for the kids though would be, or maybe you could talk about a place where you almost were set back where we're really good bother you when you are really almost on your back [00:21:00] and then managed to come back from it. It's a close call, set a really big setback that really got your attention and could have stopped you if you didn't apply these principles.
Um, there were, there were a couple, one, one was in 1983 when I, uh, I lost my brother to drugs. Uh, you know, I was at a point in my life where if I was going to experiment, [00:21:30] uh, you know, at 16 and 16 years old, I was appointing him candidate, uh, to start to Matt. And I had every reason to. And so, uh, so that was an almost that that was a fork in the road, but professionally, um, there was a time that I was submitted for a, what's called a meritorious promotion, a meritorious promotion is, uh, is where the army would promote you outside [00:22:00] of the normal promotion system. So they could, they could take a vote and they could promote a person. And I was submitted for it. And, um, I didn't get selected. Uh, they selected another guy that they, um, that they thought had more potential at a better chance representing, uh, my command and I than I did.
And, uh, but what I did was I kept a positive attitude. I kept doing my job. I was in a position, uh, that was greater than a pay grade. [00:22:30] And I was in, and, um, I did the job the best of my ability. Uh, about four months later, I got a phone call and they said, hey, when you didn't get this selection for promotion, what we did was we forwarded your entire packet to the Pentagon to compete nationally with other people that didn't get promoted either. And at that national competition you were selected for a meritorious promotion. Fantastic. So I believe [00:23:00] just that positive attitude and outlook and constant work ethic. Uh, they watched me and they resubmitted on my, on my behalf and I got a promotion and four months later that I didn't even see comment.
So you felt set back and I want to catch the exact moment when you came back from it, but when you, what did you say to yourself when you were discouraged and, and, uh, what, what is it that you, yeah, [00:23:30] what was the what brought you back? What did you say to yourself? Or what, what was, what inspired you to come back from being on your back? Get up and win.
Okay. So there's, there's one rule. If you ask any of my four children, uh, the number one rule of being a street or a street is don't quit. And so, uh, that's what I'm saying is, comes from Dan. I, [00:24:00] uh, and Joe, I, uh, I reminded myself that I'm not a quitter and I need to, I need to step to get back up and dust myself off and continue to move on the street. But you claim a fact that people help you to accomplish some of your goals as well. If it wasn't for people interested in you that you would not be able to accomplish things that you have accomplished yet. [00:24:30] Yes. So, um, one of the, I think one of the most humbling things about my selection to be a sergeant major and then appointment as a command sergeant major, you know, uh, that less than 1% of the army, uh, gets a chance to hold, um, was when I, when I looked back over it, the selection criteria and later I had a chance to be a part of the panel to select command sergeant major when I saw [00:25:00] all the rigor that goes into the screening.
And the selection process. Um, it was hard to choke back the tears and because I realized at that point that there were so many people in my life and then my path that helped to keep me on track and they were put there for certain reasons, uh, for such a time as being a command sergeant major, that it was overwhelmingly humbling, uh, to understand that, [00:25:30] that it wasn't necessarily the things that I was, that I did for myself. It was the position that I put myself in for others to then do things for, uh, to include my subordinates that always wanted to see me do well and they bent over backwards and exceeded the standard and in order to make them look good as their leader. So in Nestle they had made you become I'm a humble person yourself. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. They're there. The top three ranks [00:26:00] in the military.
Uh, and on the, on the officer's side, the top four ranks, uh, criminal four star general, um, or through five grew up in the top five ranks on the officer's side. Um, all come from all come off the backs of others. They come from, they come from leaders that that trust and believe in you. It comes from, from your peers around you that respect you in a way that they go to head them down and it [00:26:30] comes from your subordinates that believe in you enough that Dell comms to mission on your behalf. So there are three tiers, three levels of folks that are involved in that the entire time. And it's just humbling. See at the end how it all comes into play and how those records are screened and reviewed and their competition is so steep and you get a chance to represent your chosen branch of service at that level, through all that muck. Uh, it's [00:27:00] just, how to say the least, it takes a very big ego to miss the point that there are hundreds of people that are involved. You being there that day, that rankle.
fantastic. Well, no, Mr Street, I want to say this and I'm so grateful for this opportunity that I have the chance to talk with you and look at all the accomplishments that you have made. And at the same time given me the privilege to learn about all [00:27:30] the things that you have done. So I can express those things to my audience, which will also include elementary school teachers. I mean children, highest schools, colleges, and also the public. And I appreciate this opportunity.
Hey, I appreciate it as well. And Joe, you, you let me know, sir, what I can do to help you and your endeavors and we can impact youth and we can go into a room of a thousand and impact just one that's a successful day [00:28:00] to meet. And I appreciate the time and Dan, I appreciate the coordination.
Thank you so much. Right. Well thank you both. That's great. [inaudible] congratulations