High performers, high earners, people with titles, they think because they’ve got influence, they’re leading. But when you really put pressure on it, they’re protecting themselves, not pouring into others. I had a c- coaching client, head coach of a college baseball team. Talented, respected, winning games, but something was off.

His players weren’t ful- fully bought in. So I asked him straight up, “Are you coaching for them? Are you coaching for how you look?” That one hit him, because when things got tight, when a player messed up, he’d pull back. He’d get frustrated. He’d make it about results and not development. That’s ego. So we flipped it, told him, “Hey, your job isn’t to be right, it’s to serve the growth of every player in that dugout, even when they’re not performing, especially when they’re not performing.”

‘Cause pressure doesn’t create who you are, it reveals it. And if your identity is built on control, image, and outcomes, you’ll tighten up, you’ll lead scared. But when you lead from service, you get free. You show up different, you coach harder, you care deeper, and ironically, that’s when performance actually takes off.

So here’s the check, varsity squad. [00:02:00] If you are leading to be seen, or are you leading to be s- to serve? ‘Cause one builds ego, the other builds legacy. And wanna talk about legacy, squad. Today’s guest is someone who’s spent decades in rooms where real pressure lives and real decisions get made. Chip Webster is a good friend of mine now, and is a former president of Vistage Florida, where he mentored CEOs and helped leaders grow companies at the highest level.

But what I respect most is he didn’t stop at business. He shifted into impact. F- again, service, squad. He shifted into impact, founding Unity in Service, a movement focused on bringing people together through action, not talk. Rebuilding trust through service and real civic engagement. He’s also the author of Unity in Service, which I have a book giveaway, so stick around to the end and I will again do a…

Actually, I’m gonna do a five book giveaway of his book, Unity in Service: A Pathway to Responsible Citizenship. And today, we’re delving- diving into leadership, responsibility, and what actually takes to unite the people in this divided world. And Chip, oh, huge thank you to Noemi Barris for this [00:03:00] connection to Chip, who I immensely respect.

But Chip, thank you for coming on. Please introduce yourself to Time to Shine Today podcast varsity squad. But first, what’s your favorite color, and why? 

Chip Webster: Red. 

Coach Fergie: Red. Love it. It’s 

Chip Webster: ener- energy. Yes. I have two red sports cars. 

Coach Fergie: I love it. I love that. Love it, man. So I gotta ask you just l- something. I always start off with a little bit of a light question, right?

But- 

Chip Webster: Sure … 

Coach Fergie: you sat in rooms with some serious CEOs, right? So be honest with me- Oh … and the listeners out there What’s the funniest executive meltdown moment you’ve ever witnessed where you had to keep a straight face?

Chip Webster: I used to facilitate these group meetings with all these CEOs, and one of them, who was a great guy but would talk a lot, said, “You know what? If I knew what I was talking about, I wouldn’t be talking.” 

Coach Fergie: Dude, isn’t that true, though? 

Chip Webster: Yeah. It’s 

Coach Fergie: so true. I almost 

Chip Webster: fell out of the chair. 

Coach Fergie: Oh my gosh.

That’s awesome. So I gotta get… We talked usually when I hop on, I’m gonna, in full disclosure to you, Chip, when I [00:04:00] hop on a podcast, I usually go straight to interview. But you put this like essence around you, this ambiance if you wanna call it, that I just wanted to talk to you and pick your brain and listen to you.

And you actually are one of the best listeners I’ve actually had on the beginning of a show, right? Wow. You hear me out, asking me questions. I’m like, “Who’s interviewing here,” right? But that’s, so sorry for keeping you 20 minutes past recording time, man. But- 

Chip Webster: it was a gift. It was an absolute gift- 

Coach Fergie: Yes

Chip Webster: to me. 

Coach Fergie: Yes, both. So tell me about the roots, ’cause you’re pretty- you’re very low-key, but I also know a very powerful individual. You might not call yourself that, but you are. You’re very respected. No one sits in a room of CEOs and people, heads turn when you talk towards you. I need the roots. I need the journey, of how we got to where you got before, to the point where the CEOs are listening to you, but then we’ll move into kind of the, the civic engagement and unity.

Chip Webster: Wow. That’s a great question. I’ll start with a, a very… I was a horrible student. My dad’s the principal of the high school. W- he was principal of the junior high, went into [00:05:00] elementary school. I may be the only person you know that got kicked out of his first grade class because the teacher and I didn’t get along.

Turns out I’m dyslexic and ADD, okay. Which, guess what? A lot of entrepreneurs are, by the way. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Chip Webster: 100%, 

Coach Fergie: yeah. 

Chip Webster: But when I was young early, my dad was a vice principal at Burbank High School. This was preschool for me. I had a job every day. I had to pick up the apricots. We had these apricot trees.

They’d fall, turn mushy, make a mess, and every day I had to pick them up. One day I I just didn’t do it. So we, my dad came home and said you didn’t pick up the apricots, did you?” “No.” “No worky, no eaty.” 

Coach Fergie: Ooh. 

Chip Webster: Bed without dinner. 

Coach Fergie: Ooh. 

Chip Webster: That lesson has stuck to me- I just turned 80, so that’s a long time 

Coach Fergie: Wow.

You’re amazing. And- You’re looking great, man. Just have to put it out there, brother. 

Chip Webster: Yeah. Thanks. But it hard work. Yes. I once heard somebody say the secret to success is a four-letter word, W-O-R-K. Yes, sir. And that’s where it starts. And so that was the [00:06:00] foundation, and then when I was a lousy student, I had to prove myself to myself.

And the first time I really realized I had value, I was in Palm Springs working in Leon’s Men’s Shop. I was a junior in high school. Football season was over, and I was 6’2″ and 147 pounds, so I wasn’t a real threat on the- … defensive line. 

Coach Fergie: Lean. 

Chip Webster: And I- people would come to, to see me. I’d wait on them, and they’d come back, and they were movie stars and movie stars’ kids and stuff, and I thought, “Wow, I found my calling,” which- Yeah

then was retail. And then got myself into Drake University. That had a great co-op program. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Chip Webster: So I c- I… The only A I got in college was working at Sears. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Chip Webster: Went to work for Sears. 

Coach Fergie: All right. 

Chip Webster: And then when I graduated, they asked me to c- In fact, between my junior and senior year, they put me on the MBA training program at headquarters.

That’s- 

Coach Fergie: Wow. 

Chip Webster: Okay … apparent- apparently I was doing okay. And, it just became a great launching pad. And then I after s- years in the [00:07:00] headquarters, like five… I guess I was in the headquarters three and a half years. I could see this bureaucracy. We’d just built the Sears Tower and it was all about the tower, it wasn’t about the customer.

So I left, did a couple other entrepreneurial things, and then I found Vistage. And Vistage I would sit with people making hundreds of millions of dollars, and I was really more interested in helping them than I was being jealous. And I- Love 

Coach Fergie: that. Yes … 

Chip Webster: and as it turned out, I was good at what I did, and I’ve done…

I’m very comfortable financially. I have no complaints. Bought into the company, became president, and it’s a wonderful organization. But I gu- I guess part of it is finding your calling. And f- and for me, it was giving my energy to help others succeed. 

Coach Fergie: Oh, that’s strong. Yeah, and w- isn’t it crazy that energy replenished?

Chip Webster: Oh, yeah. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. People think that you’re gonna give something and it’s gone. It’s wait a minute you give that away, it’s almost [00:08:00] like… i’m a Christian, but if people are not, then go with- … whoever your creator is. That I believe that when you let it out and you pour into somebody, more of it just comes back to you in even more experience.

So I used to like- Believe. 

Chip Webster: Yeah … 

Coach Fergie: yeah I used to hold onto everything and like- … “This is mine.” A- and then once I s- you know, my mentor’s like, “Dude, like you need to come up with a give give mentality.” And I listened to him and I did, and now I always jokingly say, “I give until it hurts so good.”

But always open to reciprocation, right? 

Chip Webster: Yeah. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah, so the, from Vistage you were at Vistage, and then what was the journey kinda past that? 

Chip Webster: I was, I retired, and then I was kinda little bored and I did Tiger 21 for about 18 months, which is- Okay … a Vistage model, but for ultra high net worth individuals.

I chaired a group. And then COVID came. And my wife is a cardiologist, but she’s immunocompromised. So we’re sitting in our condo looking out at our boat at the yacht club and- she doesn’t ride up [00:09:00] and down the elevator. She doesn’t want to be around people. We have kids literally in all four corners of the country.

We want to go see them, but we don’t feel comfortable flying. 

Coach Fergie: Understood, yeah. 

Chip Webster: S- so I said let’s buy a, an RV.” I thought she’d say no. Five loops around the United States later- Wow … we did six-month loops every year for five years. Fabulous experience. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Chip Webster: And during those m- th- those trips, I would meet people in RV parks and talk to them and we’d talk about, where do we get our tires and- 

Coach Fergie: Sure

Chip Webster: What’s the best mechanic and what RV park should you avoid. And then many times the conversation would dra- drift into politics, and nobody- … was happy. I don’t care whether they’re left or right, that nobody was happy. And I’d say we have the government I deserve.”

And they’d look at me like I had two heads. 

Coach Fergie: You- 

Chip Webster: Democracy’s a do it ourselves project. We have the government we deserve. 

Coach Fergie: A- and I heard you say that in a couple other interviews, and I wanted to ask you- … what you meant by it, but I just got it. It was like a light bulb just went up over my head.

Yeah. ‘Cause we- Yeah … are blessed, ’cause again, I’ve been to [00:10:00] countries that they don’t have the option for democracy. And it’s oh, wow, like we, I- there’s just s- so much opportunity that’s here for Americans, right? Without getting on some kind of soapbox right now, but I just I don’t see how somebody, if they really wanted to, can’t succeed by providing service for people at, a- at any level.

I just don’t see how it’s not now it’s not happening, and that’s where this show, brings on people like you that will be like, “Listen, the options are here.” Oh, yeah. But there’s gotta be unity. And it’s gotta be open for discussion also, ’cause a lot of it- … both sides of the aisle, one-sided, right?

Yes. Some of, some people are. Yeah. 

Chip Webster: But- Ge- George Washington warned us in his farewell address that the parties would evolve in or devolve- … into putting party ahead of country, and that’s what we’re experiencing right 

Coach Fergie: now. Yes, absolutely, on either side too. Oh, no, no- 100%. So- we- let’s stay with division, you know- Sure

right [00:11:00] now. Everyone talks about it, like right now, but most people just complain, right? So what do you feel we are getting wrong about unity, and what does actually stepping up look like on a daily basis for these people? 

Chip Webster: I know you don’t like a lot of statistics. Why don’t I give you a couple, 

Coach Fergie: Please, this is the time for the stats, baby.

Chip Webster: Okay. Let’s bring it. So in 1964, 70- 77% of the people thought the country was going in the right direction- Okay … according to a Pew study they do every year. Last year it was 17%. If you and I were running a business and had those kind of results, we’d be shot and fired. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Chip Webster: And then a lot…

The… Also did a study about people trusting their neighbors and loneliness. And that’s gone, shot way up. And the number of people that are in service clubs, I just did some research. In 1960, don’t hold me to the exact numbers, but- Sure … 82% of people were part of some service club. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Chip Webster: The last figures were somewhere between 30 and 40%.

And those 40% who are still participating only are giving [00:12:00] about 40 to 50% of the time they did before. So if you shrink that down, that’s what, a quarter? Of what’s being given back to the community. So that’s endemic. And the only way that’s gonna change is if we as a society decide to get off the couch.

I was listening to Bo Jackson was being interviewed and about his mentoring. And he said… And then somebody said how do you pick who you mentor?” And he said, “They have to get off the couch.” 

Coach Fergie: That’s 100% true. You know- … so many people, they wait. A, a lot of people will pray, and I’m not gonna get religious here, but they’ll- Right

they’ll pray for a solution. Or they’ll pray to get themselves out of a situation instead of pray for if… Instead of praying for calmer seas, pray for the wisdom to build a sail. And if you do that- Yeah … community will come together around you. ‘Cause they’re gonna reach out to you, just like you had those discussions in RV parks.

I’m sure you picked up some pretty cool steps on where to get tires. Where to get- Yeah. … hookups. What parts to avoid. And it’s just, you [00:13:00] step in and you start, taking that action. So I gotta ask you, though, you, you walked away from a high-level business influence into building this unity through service, right?

And I- … understand why you do. Other people might not, but I fully understand. So was there a moment during the time where you just said, “This isn’t enough anymore”? And what was the switch? You might have answered a little bit, but I wanna go deeper on that switch that flipped, that made you really go into the, the, the unity.

Chip Webster: I’ve financially comfortable. And I… My dad used to talk, we’d go camping in the Sierras, and we need to leave the campsite better than we found it. 

Coach Fergie: Love that. Love 

Chip Webster: that … and I, I felt like I needed to do more for my kids their wellbeing my grandkids, and society in general.

Love it. So I got more involved in nonprofits. I’m chairm- right now chair of the board of Tampa Bay Watch, which is a organization that’s been around for [00:14:00] a long time. And getting involved in that helped me see the need for people getting involved. We know that if people get off the couch and go out and spend time with people, their mental health will be better.

We have a mental health crisis too- 

Coach Fergie: Yes, 

Chip Webster: sir … of loneliness. The st- the statistics are there. Success will not attack you. You have to get off the couch and go out and meet people and talk to people. When I moved from Waukegan to Chicago, when I got promoted out of the store into the headquarters, I was downtown Chicago living in an apartment, and nobody came knocking on my door.

I’d go to work, but, those guys were all married, and I was downtown and single. And so I said, “You know what, Chip? Go do something you like to do.” So I got my basketball out and put my sneakers on and started playing in these pickup games in the neighborhoods and created a great ser- friendships.

Coach Fergie: That’s 

Chip Webster: great. So taking responsibility, that’s… you’re either a victim or you’re somebody [00:15:00] who’s gonna fix what you have. And victims will sit on the couch and watch reruns of Seinfeld or whatever- Sure … doesn’t matter, and just veg out. And, you’ve gotta go meet people.

Action. That’s where the energy is. Yeah. And the more people I meet, like our conversation, I get great energy from that. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah, absolutely. Me too. So what would be your definition of responsibility then? 

Chip Webster: I think getting, going out and getting involved in a community project. Habitat for Humanity.

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Chip Webster: A lot, every town, most towns have a Paint Your Heart Out where they go paint old homes. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. Yeah. 

Chip Webster: I, I started with Tampa Bay Watch. I was picking up trash along the bay in the Coffee Pot Bayeux and that really hooked me. Yeah, get out and do something that makes the nation, your city, your neighborhood better.

Coach Fergie: Better. Yes. Love it. I love it. And that, I get a lot of my coaching is about accountability and responsibility, and I’m a big believer in responsibility is the… It’s [00:16:00] rooted right in the word. It’s the ability to respond, right? In any situation. So like you said, if you’re Netflix and chilling all the time, like you can take responsibility for that and get off your butt and go and pour into somebody that is in need, and there’s nothing wrong with that, ’cause some people will fight me on that and say, America’s set up and I can’t succeed.” And I’m the f- I will be the first one to give a homeless man a dollar. I have no problem parting with a dollar. Because I know he’s probably gonna go buy the alcohol with it, unfortunately.

Oh. Oh. And that a store owner might use it to keep his lights on, that dollar, right? To keep his lights on, which helps FP&L, which because everything kind of flows through. That’s the way I look at it, ’cause it’s gonna come back to me, I promise you. My goddaughter called me.

I helped someone with a flat tire the other day, side of I-95 like a crazy man. I’m like, “Dude, I gotta help this guy.” So I help him, and like my goddaughter like three hours later called me, and not hitting me up for money, just to talk. So [00:17:00] I felt that was almost a reciprocation- Right.

… For what I did. It didn’t have to be money, man. You know what I’m saying? So it all- Yeah … comes full circle back to you. So where, with the unity and service, where… If you could wave a magic wand, which that didn’t happen, but I wanna know what it looks like in 2030, 2030. If we, if what you are seeing in your book, which I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read it yet.

I will read it. If it, if people were to play into it, what kind of country would we be looking at? 

Chip Webster: Let me give you one little venue or little 

Coach Fergie: vignette. Yes, 

Chip Webster: please. In our preps, we would, we hit 37 states in our s- circles. We went places I’ve always wanted to go. I’d never been to North Dakota.

I’d been to every state. Got to go to North Dakota. 

Coach Fergie: That’s so 

Chip Webster: cool. And people knock North Dakota. It’s beautiful. 

Coach Fergie: Beautiful. 

Chip Webster: It is. Yeah. And, the Badlands and, I, the first thing I would like is to not see trash all over. I think if we have, if I can get [00:18:00] across the goal line, universal service for 18-year-olds- one year serving the country. Go to a boot camp away from your town. Probably s- Monday through Friday from 7:00 in the morning till 6:00 at night. Your cellphone would be in a box, and you’d be out doing things- Yes … making things happen. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. Love it. 

Chip Webster: And I will guarantee you, I would guarantee this, the roads will be cleaner.

There’ll be less litter, and people will feel prouder to be a, a, a part of this country- … because they worked on something bigger than themselves. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Chip Webster: On the board at Tampa Bay Watch, it’s a great board, very diverse politically. And one of my fellow board members, who probably never voted the way I have in my life, she said, the neat thing about this is it doesn’t matter who we vote for.”

Coach Fergie: Yeah. “

Chip Webster: We’re working on something bigger than ourselves.” Yes. “That’s more important than ourselves.” 

Coach Fergie: Thank you. Thank you. It’s so much stress I found is relieved off of yourself when you’re giving. Yeah. I just, I f- like a lot of my clients is like, [00:19:00] “Oh man, this is happening.” Go give. Go do something today where you’re gonna serve somebody.

And they, it probably 8 to 9 times out of 10, sometimes 10 times out of 10, we’ll have a quick text and be like, “That was it. That’s what I needed.” Yeah. “I needed to pour into something other than myself.” It’s- If 

Chip Webster: you’re not… Yes. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Chip Webster: Yes. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Chip Webster: Yes. I, all the 

Coach Fergie: way. Yeah … 

Chip Webster: yeah, you’re familiar with San Diego.

Whenever we went down there, we were staying in Chula Vista. There’s a really great- … RV park. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Chip Webster: Yeah. And right on the bay. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Chip Webster: And 

Coach Fergie: I- The Silver Strand there. At the end of the Silver Strand, right? Yeah. 

Chip Webster: Yeah. Yeah. So I’d go walking, great hiking or walking there. And so at different, I’d play different games.

Some days I wouldn’t say hi to anybody and just kinda look the other way, and- Sure … occasionally somebody would say hi. L- then I would walk and say hi to everybody. And, most people turn or look at you like you’re crazy. Oh. And then you say hi to somebody, and they light up like a Christmas tree.

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Chip Webster: I’ve been recognized as a human being. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. Yes. I love that. And, 

Chip Webster: and- 

Coach Fergie: W- would you consider, [00:20:00] if I was to say this, would you say it’s a truth or not, that you’re more interested in other people’s story than telling your own? 

Chip Webster: Oh, God. Yeah. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. I see that. I pick up on it. And that’s why- And- … people respect you.

That’s why I respect you, and the level of people like, I could just see you at a networking event. You and I would be terrible at a networking event if we were to run into each other because my biggest compliment at a networking event- … is when I walk away from somebody, they go, “What the hell does that guy do?”

‘Cause I don’t say anything- Yeah … about myself. I’ll get your card. I go out to my car, I write you a thank you note, which is a lost art. Be like, “I’d love to have a one-on-one coffee,” and I’ll drop my coaching card in it, right? They’ll dump it in the mail and be like, “Dude, oh, I remember this guy,” ’cause my picture’s on it, douchey picture kind of thing.

Be like, “I remember this guy.” But I just feel that with you, we would be, like, asking each other questions and not getting shit done. Just saying. So- … it’s amazing. So I gotta ’cause the length of this podcast, I’m, we’ll probably end up doing a part two, but I have to ask you this question.

Have you seen Back to the Future? Oh God, 

Years ago, right? Yeah. I can’t believe it’s [00:21:00] 41 years old. That’s- it’s insane. But- I 

Chip Webster: saw it in, I saw it in LA in Northridge, actually. Oh, did you? Where a lot of it was shot. 

Coach Fergie: Oh, ni- okay, yeah, by the- Yeah … Twin Oaks Mall or something like that, right?

Yeah. Yeah. So let’s get in the DeLorean with Marty McFly, right? Let’s go back to the double deuce, the 22-year-old Chip, right? What kind of knowledge nuggets might you drop on him, not to change anything so much, but to maybe help him shorten his learning curve, maybe blast the trajectory a little bit sooner in life?

‘Cause at that time I’m sure you’re like me, you knew everything. 

Chip Webster: Oh, yeah. I and I knew everything in seventh grade, so I didn’t need to learn anything. 

Coach Fergie: What might you 

Chip Webster: tell him? Shut up and listen. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yes. 

Chip Webster: Get to, you become the average of the 10 people you hang out with.

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Chip Webster: 100%. And I would have you think about what you want to accomplish in life- … and then go seek those individuals- yes … that have already done it. Thank you … and listen, and then act. [00:22:00] 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Chip Webster: Hearing it doesn’t do any good. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. 

Chip Webster: Maybe it does a little good, but doing it, replicating- 

Coach Fergie: Yes

Chip Webster: watching people be successful as leaders helped me be- 

Coach Fergie: Love this … 

Chip Webster: a successful leader. 

Coach Fergie: So good. And Squad, you hear what he said, it’s shut up and listen. My good friend Leah Woodford drilled into me a long time ago where she said, “If you need to know something, get your asking gear.”

There’s people out there that if you ask them, and my superpower is curiosity now, but it wasn’t before. I was more interested in telling you how awesome I was at the time than in what I could do and what I could do for them than to actually listen and pick up a step. But Squad, that’s what he’s saying y- the people will leave clues to you when you become curious.

That’s exactly what they will do. Chip, I have to ask you, how do you want your dash remembered? Which, that little line in between your incarnation date and your expiration date, your life date and death date. Hopefully it’s still a way down the… I know you’re 80, but nobody looks like you at 80, okay?

Like, how do you want your dash remembered? The, what you, if I was to stand up and talk about you, what do you hope people will really say? 

Chip Webster: [00:23:00] I, in, in 1980 I was sitting on my couch in Thousand Oaks, California, overlooking the 101, about 3:00 in the morning, I’m a night owl- What’s my personal mission statement?

What am I about? And it was helping other people grow and see their potential. 

Coach Fergie: Love that. Yes. 

Chip Webster: The dash would be he made a difference. 

Coach Fergie: Love it. Grow and see their potential. A- and our mission statement at Time To Shine today is we help you lean into your ultimate human potential, and we’re king and queen makers.

Yeah. It’s like I kinda like jokingly say at the end. That’s amazing. So what is… Let me see. What is Chip’s definition of a life well-lived?

Chip Webster: There was an old motivational speaker, I’m trying to remember his name, that talked about the old lamplighters. In the old days with all the gas lights- Yeah … somebody had to go down the street and light every night the lights. Yeah. And after you- On down the [00:24:00] street and up the hill, you can look back and see that you lit some lights.

Coach Fergie: That’s beautiful, man. Yeah. S- yeah, and you would see that y- you can take credit for it, right? Yet you know that if somebody didn’t invent the ga- the what is it? Propane. Not propane. What was it back then? 

Chip Webster: I think it was just natural gas in those days. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah, it could be natural gas. Yeah.

Edison and Tesla are head, heads buried to get us some light bulbs, but, … to be able to have that I’ll… It’s kerosene I think it was back then. Was it? When it was. Okay. Yeah, because, JD Rockefeller. So I’m a history loser. I dig into all stuff, especially the capitalism side of things- Oh

which is who I am. 

Chip Webster: By, by, by the way, that’s the only way you can learn. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. And people leave clues, that’s- Yeah. Yeah … and I’ll pick up, I’ll pick up a little crumb from here or there. And Squad, talk about just leveling up and picking up awesome sauce crumbs that my good friend Chip is leaving behind.

Time to Shine Today podcast wrestling squad, we are back. And Chip, I might have to make a trip north or get you down here to Palm Beach or something like [00:25:00] that and we’ll-

you know, grab a, a, a coffee or just a meal and talk about some of these questions, probably 15, 20 minutes, right? But today- … you’ve got five seconds with no explanations, and I promise you they can all be answered that way in, in that quick. 

Chip Webster: Okay. 

Coach Fergie: You ready? I promise. I’m 

Chip Webster: ready. 

Coach Fergie: Here we go. Chip, what is the best leveling-up advice you’ve ever received?

Chip Webster: Ooh. F- take three deep breaths- … and if it’s a really big deal sleep on it overnight before you respond. 

Coach Fergie: That’s beautiful. That’s beautiful. Absolutely awesome. Share one of your personal habits that contributes to your success. 

Chip Webster: I work out every day. Beautiful. It makes my… Yeah. 

Coach Fergie: Absolutely.

So you see me walking down the street like, “Eh, Fergie’s in his doldrums.” What book would you hand me that when you read it, which I see you have a lot of books behind you- Yes … w- when, that when you read it, flipped the switch and say, “Life’s good. It’s good. Just you gotta take action.”

What was that book for you? 

Chip Webster: There’s a million. The Magic of Thinking Big. 

Coach Fergie: Oh, yeah, Maxwell Maltz. Absolutely, yeah. 

Chip Webster: Yeah. Yeah. And then [00:26:00] there’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Another one of the, the quote- Those are the- … unquote bibles of it, right? Yeah. And the modern- Go back even- … modern-day guys like Bob Burg and Andy Andrews and, the stuff. Yeah. They’re all over the place. Yeah, I love- Yeah … I love all those recommendations. Beautiful. Go, any nicknames growing up? 

Chip Webster: That I can say on the air? 

Coach Fergie: We’ll beep it if it’s too bad. 

Chip Webster: Okay. I was, I’ve always been Chip.

Okay. That was, my mom made my dad… I’m Charles Whitman Webster III, and my mom said he’s not gonna be a Charlie,” so they picked Chip. And, Got it. 

Coach Fergie: All right. 

Chip Webster: Excellent … so that came that way, yeah. 

Coach Fergie: Excellent. So any hidden talent and/or superpower that nobody knows about until now? 

Chip Webster: I don’t know that it was a superpower, but I’m the only person I know that ran Winnie the Pooh for president.

Coach Fergie: We’ll get back to that one another time, but we’ll circle back. Chess, checkers, or Monopoly? 

Chip Webster: Monopoly 

Coach Fergie: All right. Headline for your life 

Chip Webster: He made a difference. 

Coach Fergie: Love it. Go-to ice cream flavor. 

Chip Webster: Oh, man. [00:27:00] Coffee chip. 

Coach Fergie: All right. And we can definitely be friends. That’s awesome. So how about the…

There’s a sandwich called the Civic Chip. Build that sandwich. What are we eating? 

Chip Webster: Are you talking like ham and cheese? 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. What are we eating? 

Chip Webster: Ham ham and cheese banana peppers- 

Coach Fergie: Ooh … 

Chip Webster: some salami shredded lettuce and some tomatoes. 

Coach Fergie: Love it. Favorite charity and/or organization you like to give your time and/or money to?

Chip Webster: Certainly Tampa Bay Watch. 

Coach Fergie: Ep- beautiful. Last question, we can elaborate on this one a little bit, but what’s the best decade of music, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s? 

Chip Webster: For me, it’s the ’60s. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. I love the ’60s and ’70s, dude. The storytelling that went down in those songs- … back then were just- amazing. And one of the questions I sometimes throw in there, the Beatles, Stones, or Frankie Valli- Ooh … and the Four Seasons? You, which one would you pick to listen to? 

Chip Webster: I would pick the Beatles. I saw- Would you? … Frankie Valli in person in at Bachelor’s 2 in Fort Lauderdale, which- Okay

was back in w- [00:28:00] Joe Namath owned part of it. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. Yeah, it’s funny. Like Frankie Valli, I saw him in February. He’s 89. Oh, did you? Yeah, and he comes out.

He’ll sing a couple songs, and he’ll do bits and parts of the songs. But come on, man. The Four Seasons had a number one before the Beatles, during the Beatles- Yeah … and after the Beatles. 

Chip Webster: W- Or 

Coach Fergie: Think of All the Stuff- 

Chip Webster: You think of all the stuff … Girls Don’t Cry. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. Sherry, Summer of, Oh, What a Night.

They’ve had- 

Chip Webster: yeah … 

Coach Fergie: like at least 40 good songs. If you just put Y- Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons into YouTube, you’re gonna know like almost all the songs, right? Yeah. And it’s beautiful. Like I love the… I don’t know how I went off on a Frankie Valli tangent, but that’s how I feel 

Chip Webster: about- Let me just go back to when you talk about recentering.

Sometimes it’s music for me. 

Coach Fergie: Yes. ‘Cause nostalgia is a powerful drug, right? But sometimes the song will take me to a point where something opened up in my mind- … and so I might go back to that song, right? I don’t live in the past, but sometimes I’ll learn from it.

There’s a- And if that song’s available, absolutely, right? 

Chip Webster: McFadden and Whitehead, Ain’t No Stopping Us [00:29:00] Now? 

Coach Fergie: Yes, absolutely, yeah. 

Chip Webster: That’s when I need to get going. 

Coach Fergie: Yeah, love that. 

Chip Webster: Crank it 

Coach Fergie: up. Love it. Love it. So how can we find you, Mr. Chip? 

Chip Webster: Chip. or chip@unityandservice.com. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Chip Webster: Go to my website and send me an email.

Coach Fergie: Gotcha. And- 

Chip Webster: I said com. I’m sorry. Chip@unityandservice.org. 

Coach Fergie: Gotcha. Squad, those on Vimeo or watching on YouTube, here is his website here. It’s a great poem. Open up that poem. And also this little clip it- that he had on the interview is what really helped me ask about three of the questions, just watching this minute 52 clip.

Great website. LinkedIn, you can connect with him over on LinkedIn over here. I don’t know where that is. I have the wrong page. Sorry about that, guys. I must have d- drifted off your page after I pulled you up. But this is his book, Unity in Service: The Pathway to Responsible Leadership. Tell us about the book.

Chip Webster: It was written as a result of watching the country decline and loss of faith in [00:30:00] each other and lack of ownership being taken by the, the citizens. 

Coach Fergie: Okay. 

Chip Webster: So I just- Okay … thought this was a wake-up call, and my big, hairy, audacious goal is universal service. Let’s break down the barriers. Let’s get s- sweat together.

If you go back and look at the history of the draft, in World War II people accepted it. 

Coach Fergie: Yes, sir. 

Chip Webster: Or did accept it. Yes. In w- in Vietnam they didn’t accept it, and part of the problem was in Vietnam, if you were a student and you had, p- money, had a family, had enough money to put you in college, you could defer the draft.

If you were politically connected, you could get out of the draft. And that creates this great distrust, and we’re still haven’t recovered from that. 

Coach Fergie: And it’s amazing. Again, I’m a history loser. I affectionately call myself that. But I dig ’cause there’s clues there- Yeah … and stuff left behind.

But what happened, which you’re obviously a Boomer- Yep … 100%, ’cause my dad’s 80, right? Okay. So it’s like- Yeah … 54, yeah, no, he’s 79. But yeah it’s like that, that the, Tom Brokaw had it right, man. It’s the [00:31:00] Greatest Generation fricking ever. It just- Yep … generation X, we’re a couple badasses.

Don’t get me wrong. We know how to work. We’re older than Google. So we got it going on, but man, the, your guys’ generation, if we had that work ethic now, this country… A- and the, I don’t, y- you could call it patriotism, but just the the faithfulness to the country that provides the greatest place on earth to live if it wasn’t, people wouldn’t flock here, yeah. And we know the blessings of what we have, 

Chip Webster: and the Depression made everybody hardscrabble. I mean- 

Coach Fergie: Yes. 

Chip Webster: And they volunteered in the CCC. They went out there and did work. 

Coach Fergie: Yep. 100%, 

Chip Webster: man. And that’s one of the reasons that we could put together an army that was so successful- Yes

’cause we’d already broken down some of the barriers. 

Coach Fergie: Yes, sir. But- That prepped us, in a sense, for- … yeah. 

Chip Webster: One of, one of my taglines or sayings is that success is the enemy. And if you look at, I don’t know if you’ve read any of Ichak Adizes. 

Coach Fergie: I have, 

Chip Webster: but- He talks about li- Yeah … life cycles of an organization.

And then Alexander Tyler back in 1750 talked about life cycles of [00:32:00] democracy. It’s the same thing, and we’re in the selfish stage. We’re, we either have to reinvent ourselves- … or we’re gonna go- 

Coach Fergie: Yeah. Hard times make tough people make good times or easier times make soft people make hard times.

Make- It’s cyclical, baby … make selfish 

Chip Webster: ti- 

Coach Fergie: Yeah, absolutely. 

Chip Webster: Absolutely. 

Coach Fergie: You’re right on. All right. We really have to go. We’ll definitely- Okay … do this again, but l- do me a favor and- … and the squad a favor, leave us with one last knowledge nugget you want us to take with us, internalize, and take action on.

Chip Webster: The only sustainable strategic advantage is people, and the people you surround yourself with or hire that’s your competitive edge- Love it, man … I don’t care what business you’re in. 

Coach Fergie: Love that. And I actually have to take a note on that. And squad this is… I have pages of notes, and I tell you, like a guy to admit he was a horrible student and didn’t pick up apricots.

No, no working, no eating, right? I really, I said it before that I really believe that my friend Chip is more interested in hearing your story than telling you his, right? I- he’s a go giver. The [00:33:00] epitome of a go giver. He’s planting trees that he’s never gonna sit in the shade of, I promise you. His passion’s there, and it’s that he wants to leave places better than he found it.

People laugh at me, squad, and I talk about this. When I stay in a hotel room, I want the maid to do zero work. I wanna clean up my stuff, stack the towels in a corner, leave, ’cause I know that her day has just made, been made easier, and leave her a fat tip as well. A good friend, Chip does things for the intention, not the attention.

You don’t see him out there leaning against Lambos or showing you pictures of his big boat and RVs and all that stuff. He’s out there helping people. He’s picking up the trash. He’s helping. He’s doing the little things that will add up and compound. He wants you to, and so do I want you to shut up and listen, and get your asking gear.

Ask when you don’t know something. There are people out there that are just willing and chomping at the bit to help you, and he’s someone that’s really helps people grow into their ultimate selves through universal service, a lot of civic service. But last thing you said is sustaining advantage is to surround yourself with people that are [00:34:00] higher than you, in a sense, that know more than you, that you can delegate to, that you can do something for them as well in return, ’cause that’s how this fricking country was built, is by people trading with others and helping each other level up, and that’s what my good friend, Chip does.

He levels up his health. He levels up his wealth. He’s 80 years old, still getting after it, a handsome devil. You’ve earned your varsity squad letter here at Time To Shine today. Thank you so much, Chip. You’re the best, brother. Thank you Coming on, brother. 

Chip Webster: Thank you so much, Scott. It’s been a lot of fun.

Coach Fergie: Hey, talk to you soon.