Eric Stevens
Episode 15

Narrator:

Welcome friends to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira, with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, welcome to another Story & Experience Podcast. It's always exciting to see who our new guest is going to be today. And as you know, for those who are brand new, let me just explain how it works, for those of you who are regular, you know exactly what's going to happen next. I'm going to just ask a few simple questions of our guest, and then we're going to open up the floor for all the questions, which basically go from 11 to 100. Eleven to 100 of the hard questions, one to 10 are the easy ones, which are the introduction. Now here's the thing about this ... every time that you began a Story & Experience Podcast, it's really just a great conversation of moments that actually shape us. And these moments actually make us into the leaders that we are today. So let's dive straight in because we only have a limited 30-minute window here. It's a short conversation, a short cup of tea. And let's begin with the name. What's your name? Is there anything we should know about how you pronounce your name that maybe we haven't done right? But tell us your name first.

Eric Stevens:

Well, my name is Eric Stevens, very straightforward. I think it's universally understood how to pronounce it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, that's good. That's good. And so Eric, that's, that's true. That's true. I would be interested to know if anybody's ever slaughtered it, but that would be, that'd be fun to find out. But Eric Stevens, glad that you're able to join us today. Tell us, what do you do for work at the moment?

Eric Stevens: 

So I have been with Adventist health for about six months. I joined in November and I'm the Operations Executive for the Care Division. So I have deep responsibility with most or all of our patient-facing entities across the enterprise.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, that's fantastic. Are you enjoying yourself a lot?

Eric Stevens:

Loving it. It's a big lift to get to know so many new people. I firmly believe in this idea that insight requires empathy and empathy requires proximity. So doing a lot of visits, getting into the spaces where the work is provided to really build my own perspective as accurately as I can.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I've just been amazed, Eric, actually in the short time that I've got to know you, just how fast you have captured the culture and tone of the company and just how many people you know so quickly. It's been pleasure to kind of just grasp that. So thanks for joining us today, as well, it's good. So in the morning when you begin your day, what's your first drink of the day? Is it water? Is it one of those green liquid smoothies? Is it coffee or tea?

Eric Stevens:

I wish it was more sophisticated, but it is coffee. And I try to at least have a, the same amount of water as I do coffee. And I drink a power milk.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Power milk, alright. And do you do the power milk first, the coffee first or?

Eric Stevens:

Coffee, water, power milk in that order.

Japhet De Oliveira:

In that order? Yes. All right. Hey, Eric, where, where were you born?

Eric Stevens:

I was born in an Adventist Health Hospital, St. Helena over in Napa valley.

Eric Stevens:

I, in fact, spent the first, almost 40 years of my life on the West Coast. And then in my late thirties started a move east that ended up in Florida, where I've been for the last 20 years working for what was then, Florida Hospital is now Advent Health.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Ha, that's fantastic, that's fantastic. When you were a child, did you imagine that you would be in this role or this position?

Eric Stevens:

No, I didn't...

Japhet De Oliveira:

So what did you, what did you imagine? What did you want to be?

Eric Stevens:

Well, until I was 40, I still thought I would make it into the NBA. I played a lot of, I had a lot of those irrational thoughts that kids do. Always wanted to do something that connected with people, I liked that. At some point, I thought I wanted to be a dentist. Come from a lovely family of origin, real service-oriented people, not a lot of money, so I did become a nurse very quickly as a means to an end cause I needed to fund much of my own vision, however poorly formed that might've been at the time.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic. I did not know that about you. That's brilliant. Oh, super. Now, if people were to describe you, would they describe you as an extrovert or introvert? And would you agree with that?

Eric Stevens:

I think I've heard people talk about themselves as an extroverted introvert. So the truth of the matter is I am introverted. But to be successful in my jobs, as I've grown over the last 20 years, I've had to come up with a method that ... I actually love people. But if I'm in a big room, I would rather talk with you and three other people than work the whole room. If I leave it to my own devices, I'm too insular. So I have on purpose, I go to be social to people, I love it, but I have to overcome my own natural tendencies to be quiet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Ha. That's fascinating. That's fantastic. And thanks for sharing that, as well. Now let's talk a little bit about your habits. Are you an early morning riser or late night owl?

Eric Stevens:

I am 4:30 in the morning up and I have a busy mind. I don't know if it's entirely healthy, but it's busy, it's thoughtful. And I love the mornings cause I usually wake with solutions to what was giving me problems the night before. And I live in a little bit of fear that one day I won't wake up so energetic and optimistic and then I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but to date it's been one of God's richest blessings for me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You wake up full of energy and ideas. That's fantastic. So this morning, first thought that came across your mind as you woke up this morning? What was that?

Eric Stevens:

That's a great question. I was thinking we have so many things that we're doing in radiology, pharmacy and our lab processes, and I've been thinking of a thoughtful way to take those powerful leaders and the important people in those spaces and get us more coordinated and connected. And I was doing some writing about it last night and what would be a better model. And so that was what I was, that's what I woke up with.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great.

Eric Stevens:

And how much I love my wife. I have to get that out there.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Out there. Good for you, man. Good for you, that's fantastic. You know, there is a great, great thinking process of actually going to sleep about a process, letting it rest, letting God process with you through the night and then rising up and seeing what God has done while you sleep. So I love it, I love it. That's great. Here's a leadership question. Are you a backseat driver?

Eric Stevens:

You know, I'll get to that kind of obliquely. I think in a matrix, which we are, which I see a matrix more as a religion actually, or a belief system more than a structure, because you get your joy through the success of other people. And successful leaders in a matrix lead through inspiration and influence, not through building up an org chart and issuing commands. And so I don't know if that makes me a backseat driver or not, but I like the idea of leading other leaders in people through inspiration and, and not just through top-down authority.

Japhet De Oliveira:

The matrix is a good model. It allows a lot of fluid movement. That's good. Yeah. Thanks. Appreciate that. All right.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So we, now the floor opens, right? And so now you begin where you choose a number between 11 and 100, remembering that obviously a hundred is really risky and hard and difficult. And so it gets more complex and some of them are light. Some of them are heavy. And so where would you like to begin, sir?

Eric Stevens:

Well, I don't want to pull a hamstring right off, so let's, why don't we go into 20.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Twenty, alright. Tell us about something you would rate 10 out of 10.

Eric Stevens:

I love to golf. Hmm. And I was taken to the heart of all golf in America, which is Augusta National. And I got to play that. And it's one of those places where it was so hyped up in my mind and it actually was better than I had hoped, in almost every respect. And so it was a, I would have to, I have several 10 out of 10s, but that comes to mind.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, that's good. That's good. The ability to be able to actually hit the ball and actually make it go where it needs to go. When that happens, that is a sweet moment. I'm with you. Alright, good, what number next? Up or down?

Eric Stevens:

Let's go to 30.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Thirty, all right. Tell us about something that you're really looking forward to.

Eric Stevens:

I have a 26-year-old son who had a very successful career in entertainment, production and stuff in Hollywood, Beverly Hills. And he made this discovery that he wants to do something that more overtly helps people. So he's today at Loyola in Chicago, he's going to be a, becoming a nurse practitioner and...

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Eric Stevens:

He wants to be connected in a primary care setting and take care of people. I couldn't be happier.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful.

Eric Stevens:

I told him when he took his first job that I didn't think it would work out for him because he's too much like me and that he's entering an industry that by definition kind of uses people up. And I told him that I'd been 21 and I'm 51 and he's only been 21, so at least he has to listen to me. And he chose over my advice and, but he came to it on his own. And so I'm looking forward to seeing him deploy in something that's heartfelt for him.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It is, it is beautiful to see people come to on their own journey. Right.

Eric Stevens:

Yeah, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And it's beautiful to see them kind of use their gifts fully and be unleashed.

Eric Stevens:

That's right.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great. Oh man, I'm so happy for you, Eric. That's great. And I'm happy for him, as well. That's fantastic. Alright, so where next.

Eric Stevens:

Let's, let's go back to 25.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Twenty-five, alright. Share the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

Eric Stevens:

Well, you know, we all love our children and because of my ... Well, however, it was set up, I was in the delivery room when our boy was born and they handed them to me. And by myself, I walked him down a long hall to the nursery. And I have a clinical background, but it is interesting to have your own baby. And it's a combination for me of beauty, a little bit of fear, like, am I qualified? They're just letting me walk away with this little child. But it was, it was a wonderful moment.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's hard to actually describe, isn't it?

Eric Stevens:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. I'm with you on that and just the, the feeling of immense joy and the beauty. Yeah, I'm with you. Absolutely. Alright, where next, up or down?

Eric Stevens:

Let's go to 35.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Thirty-five, alright. Why don't you share with us a special interest or some unique talent that you have?

Eric Stevens:

Well, I'll tell you, I have a, I don't know if it's a talent, I have a special interest. The first 18 years of my career were actually focused on helping people with mental illness and addiction. And it's become a deep interest of mine for a lot of reasons. It really stoked, I'm sort of an empathetic soul anyway, but it stoked my interest in how society cares for the disenfranchised. How free market has never cared for the vulnerable.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Eric Stevens:

And how do you capture, at least in our culture, mental illness is something society would prefer to look away from rather than look fully at it. And it's very, it's full of stigma and judgment. So for years, one of my special interests was how do I develop a narrative that captures the interest of people who aren't directly affected by it? And touches their heart in a way that's consumable and tolerable and drives them towards action. And interestingly, our CEO, Scott Reiner, and I started together in the mid-eighties working on a psychiatric unit, a behavioral health unit at Glendale. And I like the fact that we're back together again. And I know he has a deep heart for how do we express our mission to people with depression, anxiety, severe and persistent mental illness. So that's probably a long answer to number 35 question.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, it's actually really good. I mean, it's just the, the ability to actually expand us, right?

Eric Stevens:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, it's important to stretch us as humans. Because we can give much more, we can see much, we can love much more. Yeah, no, I love that. Thank you, thank you. That's great. Alright, where would you like to go next?

Eric Stevens:

Well, let's nudge it up to 39.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Alright, 39. If you didn't need to sleep, I mean, you mentioned this earlier, but if you didn't need to sleep, what would you do, Eric, with all that extra time?

Eric Stevens:

I am an avid reader and I can get lost in anything from civil war tomes to historical novels to kind of deep... I love how Dr. Gawande, Atul Gawande, writes about healthcare, and while he's tagged with oversimplifying things, it really speaks to me, he gets to core issues. And so I have just a broad interest in reading and I like to have a broad and deep perspective. So probably I would just read a lot.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, and I think I see that actually in the way that you articulate and share ideas and concepts, as well. It speaks into your leadership, as well. And so it's good. That's fantastic. That's great. Alright, where next?

Eric Stevens:

Fifty.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fifty, alright, here we go. Share about who has influenced you professionally.

Eric Stevens:

You know, there is a lovely man, a physician named Stan Sturges. Dr. Sturges lives in Portland. He was an internist who took his family to Nepal and built the Scheer Memorial Hospital there in the late fifties. And he lives one of these kind of iconic lives where he can, I mean, he delivered one of his babies in the back of a Land Rover on the way to Kathmandu. It sounds like a movie.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, it does.

Eric Stevens:

So he has these things that he can just throw. I mean, he had abdominal surgery on himself ... in Dekese, Africa, his dad did surgery on the kitchen table. So he's kind of this iconic guy who came back and became a psychiatrist and I worked with him in behavioral medicine in Portland. And I learned from him extreme nonjudgmental-ism, we take people where they are and we try to make it better. And that much of the labeling that we do in society is only for our benefit, it doesn't help people. And it just was kind of an eye-opening, deep-thinking thing for a young guy that hadn't really, hadn't really thought about it. And it's, it just influenced me and helped me in a great many ways as I approach situations and people. Probably the one side of EQ, where we really realized what we bring to the table. Very helpful in that regard, too. What are my preconceptions and what are the lenses through which I'm seeing this problem and how are they influencing how I feel and what I'm prepared to do about it? So I give a lot of credit to Dr. Sturges.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Have you, have you had the chance to be able to share that with him?

Eric Stevens:

I have. I probably should share it that articulately with him, but I told I've told him that a few times. I've stayed connected.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Oh, that's beautiful. That's beautiful actually, you know, because there are so many people, right...

Eric Stevens:

Right.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Eric, who shape us. And it's just lovely to go back and say to them, hey, you made me into this, you made me think this way. So that's beautiful. Wow.

Eric Stevens:

Yeah, thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good. That's beautiful. Alright, where next?

Eric Stevens:

Let's go 45.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Forty-five, alright, brilliant. When people come to you for help, what are they usually asking for?

Eric Stevens:

Well, it's what they're asking for and then what they're really asking for.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Alright, okay.

Eric Stevens:

And so I think that, I think many people are trying to understand, they're trying to come up with a tolerable way to talk and understand about something where we, they see us conflicted. We're saying one thing and we're doing another.

Eric Stevens:

And there's also an interesting thing, too, by the way, when you get to some positional authority, there are people layers away who it takes them so much energy to come and ask you a question, they have to be kind of angry about it before it happens. And it's a little bit like a kid talking to the vice principal. They kind of have to get all ready to go. So doesn't directly answer that question, but it's interesting how you create the environment so you can get to what's really being asked. And I, you know this, but in these leadership roles, by the time stuff gets to you, the easy stuff has all been taken care of. So you're often faced with things that if you're lucky they're 60-40 good to bad, which means 40 people aren't going to like what that decision is. So many of the leaders that I get to interact with are grappling with that. And they're grappling with being an empathetic soul and trying to get something done, but what they're going to do, there are stakeholders that aren't going to agree with it. And how in fact do we, how do we tolerate that? How do we navigate our way through that?

Japhet De Oliveira:

And actually just before we got online, you were sharing with me about how you're just thinking creatively of new ways to cascade information. So I know you're thinking about exactly this kind of stuff, so yeah. Love it, love it. That's good, good. Alright, where next?

Eric Stevens:

We'll go to, let's go to 60.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Alright, 60 it is. When in life have you felt most alone?

Eric Stevens:

I, that's a very good question. When I was in my mid-40s, my brother, who I was very close to, dropped dead suddenly at age 49.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Eric Stevens:

And the horror of the moment sustained me through that. And I have a lovely supportive family, but a few weeks downrange going through the process...

Japhet De Oliveira:

Right.

Eric Stevens:

It was... I had two interesting things, this deep sense of aloneness and things would pop into my mind that I should call him and talk to him about. This actually makes me a little shaky voiced.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's okay.

Eric Stevens:

And at first it bothered me and then I was afraid that would go away.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's very true.

Eric Stevens:

And I think this story is a cautionary tale on how high I better go on the questions.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, I understand what you're saying though, for people who are deeply close to you, right.

Eric Stevens:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Which is actually what we all have. And you know, we don't think about that often.

Eric Stevens:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So, yeah.

Eric Stevens:

And for our listeners, I... You know, if you show emotion a couple of times a year as a leader, it's lovely. If you do it five or six times, people wonder about your stability.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Isn't that interesting? Isn't that interesting?

Eric Stevens:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's actually, that's a tragedy. That's a tragedy.

Eric Stevens:

Yeah, well, we'll try to keep it in the former. So it's attractive to people and I don't frighten anybody.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, for being too, being too what? Empathetic and authentic. Yeah.

Eric Stevens:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I'm with you. I'm with you.

Eric Stevens:

Alright, let's push it up to 62.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Alright, 62. What does a sense of community, Eric, mean to you?

Eric Stevens:

You know, my background in behavioral medicine taught me that everybody needs a sense of community.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Eric Stevens:

So even people with severe and persistent mental illness, people who have intrusive thoughts and hallucinations and behave in ways that are frightening, you can objectively see that they do better with the sense of community, no matter how basic it is. So to me, if a thousand things make us a human being, I have 998 of the same things of someone who's severely and persistently mentally ill, right? I just have better coping mechanisms. I have a better fund of knowledge, I'm not disconnected from reality. But I still need a sense of productivity, a sense of belonging. I do better if I know there's somebody who knows me and cares about me. So to me it's that, if you strip it down, it's those same basic tenets.

Eric Stevens:

And then when you get into more sophisticated, more protected lives, where you don't talk to your neighbors, you have an HOA that you argue through, or you have these other mechanisms. I'm amazed how quickly that can strip down if you... Well, in fact, there's a wonderful story about a 24-year-old National Health Service worker in England, I believe, who his neighbor heard him singing karaoke in his apartment, an Adele song and while he was singing, he was crying. So the neighbor wrote a note and said, "Hey, mate, I'd love to get to know you and I have a dog and the dog needs to meet some new people anyway." And they've created this great relationship and it's trending on Twitter, like crazy. And it's a sense of community, this small reaching out to another person who you perceive as hurting.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes, it is. We all need to belong to somebody. And we all need to belong, yeah, absolutely, it's beautiful. And I mean that's what actually pulls the whole wall together. So love that. That's, that's beautiful. We need to kind of re-capture that. So thanks for sharing that. Alright, where next?

Eric Stevens:

Let's see, 65.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sixty-five, alright. Share one word that you could use to describe your past. Then, could you unpack that one word?

Eric Stevens:

Optimistic. I went with the upside. The downside was some lack of direction and not sure where to go, but I was always optimistic. I've had, I've had some really hard, not so good jobs in my life, but in the moment I loved them all. And it was afterwards I wondered about my judgment and why did I find that so appealing. I'm somehow wired to see that things can be better. I tend to see the best in people until proven otherwise. And then they have to prove it twice. And it's not out of being such a great person, I'm just wired that way. It's easier for me to carry positive energy and that has stung me a few times, but on balance. If I can't be perfect, I like the way that I am. I like that flaw being a little over-expressed in interesting people. So that optimism has powered me through lots of uncertainty.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I like that. Actually I was, when I sort of read that I was trying to think, what word, one word would I use to describe you? And I immediately went to resilient. And then I thought, as you said, optimistic, I was like, yes, that's, that is pretty good. But yes, that's really good. It was really good. And thanks for unpacking that as well.

Eric Stevens:

Yes, absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Alright, where next?

Eric Stevens:

Let's take a breath and go back to 58.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fifty-eight, alright. What is something small that you're really, absolutely passionate about?

Eric Stevens:

I don't know if it's passion or obsessed. I like things to be, I'm not the cleanest person, I'm not the most clutter-free person, but I like things to be clean. In fact, I think it's a sign of character.

Eric Stevens:

So I tell our hospital presidents, or at least in my last job, they knew when I was coming, I'm going to go through the stairwells. Because I think it's a show of character. If you can keep your stairwells clean in the big building with all the other challenges, it means you must have a pretty good process. So I think that probably it's working in hospitals for almost 40 years, the idea that a method to create things that are clean is a foundation to safety and success. And I don't lose sleep over this, or I'm not obsessed with it, but it's, I find it expressing itself more and more in my life as I get older.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, no, I had a boss once who actually asked me whether I was worried about the cobwebs in the corner of the building. And I said, "Actually, I do. I do worry about the cobwebs. I don't like them." I said, you know, I mean, we care about it. It's small, but it's not a, we're not obsessed about it, but yeah, I'm with you. That was good. That's good. Alright, we've got time for a couple more. Where did you want to go?

Eric Stevens:

Alright, let's go to 70.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Seventy it is, alright. Tell us about one thing that you're determined to accomplish.

Eric Stevens:

You know, I don't know if there's an end point, but the journey is so important to me. So I, I have this deep belief, Japhet, that there is such joy available to us when we authentically care for other people. And it's a sustaining joy that should create such leverage for a healthcare company that's mission-focused. And I want to develop methods so that leaders and the teams they lead don't get shielded from that. And because the business is so busy and so demanding and there's aspects of it that are just unfair, but if you can keep people connected with that energy source, this is the secret to me in healthcare. This is, you need that.

Eric Stevens:

You know, if you look at Jesus' life on earth, he cared for people that fell below the interest of the ruling theocracy. He showed his interest to people who were beneath. And it takes that intentional show of interest, which I see as the antecedent to loving people. You can't love somebody you're not interested in.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Eric Stevens:

So I want to get, at scale, how do we do that? How do we talk about it? Not in an evangelical way, but how do we really talk about it as a secret to our business, to our success, which I see our mission and our business and our product all rolled up into one, sometimes knotty, knotty ball. But it's not just one thing in the other. They're all deeply connected. And so, I think getting people to, to feel and understand that and even struggle with it a little bit and not have it too neatly categorized. This is mission. This is business, but really being able to connect deeply the feedback of joy and energy is just endless.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I like how you wove them all three together, as well. That's really good. That's good. And it's interesting that you decided to not bring it to an end point, but actually to talk about the journey. That's great. That's great. Yeah. Thank you. Alright, time for one more, last one.

Eric Stevens:

I think going to 100 is showy, so I'm going to go to 90.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Showy. You're so funny. Alright, tell us about how you overcame a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

Eric Stevens:

Yeah, this is personal. We all have personality traits that if taken too far, get in the way of who we want to be. So there's an attractive thing about me, I'm a peacemaker, I want things to go well. If I take that too far, I would become conflict-avoidant. And that's not, a leader can't be successful by avoiding conflict. You have to effectively find it and deal with it. And I realized that the age of 28 as I remember almost the date, I had a difficult discussion I had to have with a physician. I had, physicians were really high in my world with regard to prestige, and I was going to have to talk to this person, who I respected by position and personally, about his failures. And I sweated it over for two weeks. And I finally sat down and talked with him about it.

Eric Stevens:

He was relieved, he wanted the feedback. And so I realized I have to have a life hack. I can't spend all this energy worrying about it. And so I did start reading and understanding my own feelings, but I also took everything that made me the most anxious and I put it first in the week. I'm not going to waste one more week worrying about this. And ironically, over time, I've become known as the go-to guy to have hard conversations. Because I have to, and these were things I dreaded. And these are things that I've become good at because I've never, I'm not angry when I do it, I've put forethought into it, I have a method for it. So it's really helped me take that peacemaking and kind of actualize it into something that's functional.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic. I mean, basically addressing the fears and with a really big, empathetic heart, trying to find a way forward.

Eric Stevens:

That's right.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's super. Eric, I'm so glad that you took the time to be able to talk to us and to share openly, candidly about your personal life and professional life. We're really blessed to be able to have you with us at Adventist Health, as well. But thank you for really, I mean, just the honesty. It's always refreshing. Everybody has an amazing story. Everybody has an amazing experience. It really does shape them. And I appreciate your time.

Eric Stevens:

It's just been a pleasure to be with you. Thank you, Japhet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No worries. To all the people who are listening right now. I just want to encourage you, as well, just to share your stories with your friends, share your experiences, as well, because they are what shape you and in turn, you will shape others, as well. God bless you guys and look after each other.

Narrator:

Thank you for joining us for The Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at Adventisthealth.org/story. The Story & Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health for the Office of Culture.