Let me ask you a question. Who lit your pilot light? Seriously, who helped shape the person that you've become? Maybe it was a parent. Maybe it was a coach or a teacher. Maybe it was your pastor or a grandparent. Or maybe it was that boss who believed in you, or a friend who refused to let you quit. Or maybe it was someone who will never know the impact that they had. Now, here's the follow-up question. Whose pilot light are you helping ignite? Because whether you realize it or not, someone is learning from your life. Someone is watching how you handle disappointment, how you treat your spouse, how you respond when you're frustrated, how you talk about people when they're not in the room, how you handle success, or how you handle failure. And here's what I've come to believe, that people rarely become what we tell them. They become what we consistently show them, which means your life is preaching a sermon whether you realize it or not. You know, and that can feel like, feel like a whole lot of pressure, right? Unless you remember one important truth. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to keep your own fire burning, because you can't pass on a fire you don't possess. And that's what I wanna talk to you about today Welcome to Pilot Light. I am your host, Josh. You know, most people aren't looking for another self-help podcast. They are looking for a reminder, a reminder of who they are, a reminder of what matters, a reminder that their story is not over. So wherever you are listening from, whether you're driving to work or you're sitting there trying to convince your GPS that, yes, you actually did mean to miss that exit, or you- maybe you're just standing in the garage looking at a project that's been almost done since last summer. You know what? I'm really glad you are here. So let's light the pilot light The older I get, the less I think about success and the more I think about influence. Not platform, influence, because those are not the same thing. Platform is how many people know your name. Influence is how many people are different because you lived. You know, when I was younger, I thought influence belonged to all the famous people, right? The authors, the speakers, maybe the president or athletes or people with millions of followers. But you know what? Now I don't believe that anymore. Some of the most influential people I have ever met will never write a book. They will never stand on a stage. They will never have a microphone. But guess what? They change lives because they showed up consistently, faithfully, authentically. And I've started asking myself a very different question, not, "How many people can I reach?" But, "Who has God already trusted me to influence?" And that question changes everything because suddenly your family matters differently. Your coworkers matter differently. Your neighbors matter differently. Your friendships matter differently. Leadership stops being a title. It becomes a way of living. Let me tell you a story about someone who basically lit my pilot light. I'm gonna go back a few years and, uh, back to kindergarten. I started in a different school when I grew up. I started in a really small district, and, uh, in fact, my kindergarten year was cut short because of Mount St. Helens, and I always joke that I had to marry a kindergarten teacher in order for me to get through kindergarten. However, I moved to a bigger district my second grade year. And I remember, and it wasn't a huge jump, but to me, as a little guy, you know, it was a big deal, and I remember my first year in second grade and my first day. I cried that day because I missed my old friends. I was in this bigger district with lots of kids in there, the people that I didn't know and a teacher that I didn't know, and it was really difficult. And I remember my second grade year was okay. My third grade year was a challenge. And, and I wasn't one that I really liked school at that point. I remember kindergarten, I was like, "I didn't want to go to school. I wanted to stay home. I wanted to play. I wanted to have a good time." But I remember my fourth grade year, after that third grade year that was kind of tough, my fourth grade year, I walked into that room And there was a different teacher in there. Her name was Mrs. Gilmore, and I will never forget Mrs. Gilmore because when I went to that classroom, all of a sudden I had a desire to want to be at school. I had a desire to want to learn because she created an environment that you felt loved, that you felt safe, and you wanted to learn in that environment. And I loved my fourth grade year. And the crazy thing is, you know, here she changed that trajectory for me, where I started to like school, I started to make friends. I finally started to feel like I was connected. I finally ma- made a, a best friend in that fourth grade year, and she had a tremendous impact on me. And I'll fast-forward to many years later. One, she still keeps in contact with me. She still has tremendous influence, both her and her husband, in our community. But there was a period of time when I was going through my divorce, and it was the time for my son, Jacob, where he was getting ready to go into the fourth grade. And I remember he had the opportunity to be in a, a different classroom, and I went and I checked to see if we could do some things, and I remember I was able to get Jacob in Mrs. Gilmore's classroom. And I'll never forget that because not only did she have an impact on me and it changed my trajectory, but here's my son in this fragile state just going through his parents walking through a divorce, and now he was able to be in Mrs. Gilmore's class, where he felt loved, where he felt like he was a part of something. And, and I think it had a tremendous impact on the trajectory of his life to where eventually he became a fourth grade teacher as well. I don't know the correlation, but you know what? I think there's some strong input there And she had that kind of impact. And not only her, but her husband have had a tremendous impact on our community. And you know what? They've never written a book, they've never probably had a platform, but I know that people in this community have felt loved by them. They have preached a sermon in the way that they've lived their lives in service to others. And so I- that's my pilot light. And others, you know what? I have a lot of people, and that's the one I was kind of thinking of today as I was going back, because we're getting ready to start back at school and, and, uh, uh, Gil, uh, treated my daughter just awesome as she graduated and, and just such a tremendous family, and we just so much appreciate them. So if they're listening, hey, thanks to the Gilmores. And I know that some people are listening here that probably had, uh, Mrs. Gilmore as well as, as we talk about this today. But I just wanted to highlight that because, you know, honestly, there's been a lot of people in my life that have lit my pilot light, that have encouraged me, that have helped me to watch me grow, and whether it's grandparents or my parents or, or leaders that I've been around, um, and I never want to stop that. I always want to be around people that will challenge me and, and, and help me grow in those different areas. But you know what? As, as I was thinking about that and, and thinking about the pilot light, there's something at one point in time here recently that hit me. You know, I've spent a lot of time wanting to help people and to encourage people, to lead people, but I can't give away what I'm not continually cultivating. If my own flame is growing cold, I don't have much warmth to offer anyone else. If I'm consistently and constantly exhausted, or I'm bitter, or I'm resentful, or I'm spiritually empty, eventually that's what spills into the people around me, because influence is overflow. It's not performance. You don't fake a healthy fire, you feed it. So here's what I've learned. The greatest gift that you can give the people that you love is becoming the healthiest version of yourself. Not the most impressive, the healthiest. Emotionally, spiritually, relationally, mentally. Because healthy people create healthy environments. Peaceful people create peaceful homes. Hopeful people create hopeful teams. Faithful people build faithful families. You don't have to manufacture influence. You simply have to become someone worth following You know, people remember how you lived. Think about the people who've impacted your life. What do you remember? It's probably not every word that they said. You remember how they treated people, how they handled pressure, how they loved, how they forgave, how they stayed steady. Character leaves a deeper impression than charisma because charisma gets attention, but character earns trust, and trust changes lives. Here's my second point in this, legacy is built in ordinary moments. Legacy sounds like a really big word, right? But it's usually built in very small moments. Reading one more bedtime story, having one more honest conversation, apologizing when you're wrong, keeping your promises, showing up, being present, listening, encouraging. Most people think legacy happens at the end of life, and I think legacy happens before lunch, every ordinary day, every ordinary decision, every ordinary interaction, because every day you're teaching somebody how to live. This brings me to my third point, God thinks in generations. One of the most beautiful themes throughout scripture is that God rarely talks about one generation. He's always thinking beyond. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, parents teaching children, Paul mentoring Timothy, Jesus preparing disciples who would prepare others. God is always thinking downstream, not just about what happens in your life, but what happens because of your life. And maybe that's why your growth matters so much, because it won't stop with you, neither will your neglect. Every generation either inherits a flame or inherits ashes. You know what? Let me tell you this real quick. In the job that I work in, in the juvenile courts, I see ashes every day. I see families that are broken. I see families that, that are passing on ashes rather than a flame, and it breaks my heart. Thankfully, we have people on our team that encourage that flame in those youth, but it's really hard, and you see it every day. And sometimes I wanna stand on the rooftop and say, "Parents, pass a flame. Don't pass ashes anymore to your kids." 'Cause here's the thing, we all leave something behind. The question is, what are we handing forward? So here's the faith connection in this. Jesus said, "You are the light of the world." Think about that. He didn't say, "Someday you might become light," he said, "You are." Light has one primary job, it shines. It doesn't argue with darkness, it doesn't complain about the darkness, it simply shines. Maybe we've made influence more complicated than it needs to be. Maybe the invitation is simply stay close to the source. Keep your own flame burning, then let that light naturally spill into the people around you. So can I ask you a few questions? If your children copied your priorities, where would they end up? If your coworkers copied your attitude, what kind of workplace would they create? If your friends copied your faith, would they grow closer to God? If the people around you inherited your habits, would you be excited for them? Those are honest questions. They're not to create guilt, but I want you to see them as creating clarity because someone is always watching. Here's the challenge to you. This week, I want you to choose one person, just one, and I want you to encourage them. I want you to invest in them. I want you to pray for them. I want you to write them a note. Hey, buy them coffee. Tell them what you see them, in them. Be intentional, and before you do, ask yourself one question: What kind of flame am I passing? Because let me tell you something, encouragement is never wasted. So to close this out, one day, long after we are gone, our names may fade, our job titles will disappear, people won't remember every accomplishment, but they will remember how we made them feel, how we believed in them, how we loved them, how we pointed them toward hope. Maybe success isn't measured by how bright we shine. Maybe it's measured by how many other lights are burning because we lived. So take care of your own heart. Feed your own soul. Stay close to God. Become the person he created you to be because the world doesn't need more impressive people. It needs more people carrying a healthy fire. And remember, you can't pass on a fire that you don't possess. So I want you to think about this before we go. I want you to think of one person who changed your life. Maybe they never stood on a stage. Maybe they never became famous. Maybe they'll never know the true impact that they had. Now ask yourself, who could someday tell that story about you? Live in such a way that someone else's future burns a little brighter because your light crossed their path. Pass the flame. Hey, thanks for spending a few minutes with me today. If this conversation made you think of someone who helped light your pilot light, hey, reach out to them this week. Tell them. And if someone came to mind who needs encouragement, please pass the flame, because one life lived with intention can ignite generations. And remember, see farther, live deeper, become who you were created to be. You were created to be a fire, not just a flicker. Keep the pilot light on, and I will see you next time Before we go, I wanna ask you for two quick things. First, if Pilot Light has encouraged you, would you take a moment to follow the podcast and leave a review on either Apple Podcasts or Spotify? It may seem like a small thing, but it really does help this message reach more people who might need a little light in their life. And secondly, I wanna hear from you because Pilot Light was never meant to be just a podcast. It was meant to be a conversation. So go to the website, mypilotlight.com, and go to the fan page portion and send me a message or leave me a voicemail. Tell me your story. What challenged you? What encouraged you? What did you do differently? Or maybe most importantly, who did you pass the flame to? Maybe you shared an episode with a friend. Maybe you encouraged someone who needed it. Maybe you had a conversation you had been putting off. Maybe you chose to show up differently. I wanna hear those stories. Some of them may be even shared on our website or included in a future episode because you never know how your story might light the way for someone else. So remember, a flame was never meant to be kept. It was meant to be passed, so keep passing the flame. And as always, see farther, live deeper, become who you were created to be. You were created to be a fire, not just a flicker. Keep the pilot light on, and I will see you next time