The Importance of Making the Choice to Move Every Day with Russell Rogers

Jordan mendoza (00:02.344)
Hello everyone and welcome to the blaze your own trail podcast. My name is Jordan Mendoza I'm your host and I've got a very special guest today His name is Russell Rogers and I'm gonna let him tell you a little bit about who he is and what he does today

Russell Rogers (00:19.438)
Awesome. Jordan, thanks so much, man. I really appreciate you having me on your podcast. It means a lot. And I'm Russ Rogers, and I'm about move today 365. And it's been a recent journey. And it's kind of the journey of the second half of my life as I look to blaze my trail and make a difference not only in my community, but hopefully around the country and around the world.

So getting people motivated, encouraging people to get outside and move. That's what it's all about.

Jordan mendoza (00:55.678)
I love it. Love it. And we're going to definitely talk more about that movement a little bit later in the show. But my favorite part is really taking a rewind and letting the audience get some context into Russ, into your journey. And so we're going to kind of shift back to adolescent years if you want to share with the audience. So we're talking elementary, middle, and high school years. So where were you born and raised? And then what kind of kid were you? Were you an adventurous kid? Were you more?

Hanging in the house reading books, like what were you up to? Were you into sports? I'd love for you to share some context there.

Russell Rogers (01:30.572)
Awesome. Yeah, I was born in Modesto, California in the central Valley and my parents built a home out kind of out in the country away from everything about when I was one years old. So my mom still lives in that same house today. It is, it's amazing house. We added onto it, you know, and we did all the things around the property on the three and a half acres, but being

Out on a ranch, it was awesome because we were outside. Us boys, I had two brothers, I have two brothers and a sister. And so we would go outside and just be creative. They were much older than I, I was seven years later. So it was just a great time of being outdoors. The next door neighbors had three boys. So we played football, we played basketball, we played basketball out in the front yard till midnight because there's nobody around. We would just have a great time. So.

When we talk about my lifestyle and what I grew up in being was about activity. It was about movement. It was about sports. And so I did that and carried that all the way through elementary school and junior high school and the high school sports, sports, sports was everything I did. And so as my brothers, you know, went off to college and started in their careers, I was home by myself and my parents. So I spent a lot of time just developing on my own or with my dad.

and so it was just a great time of just, developing my skills as an athlete, and developing who I was as a person. My parents were very influential into my life in a lot of ways. And, we, we were all raised in a Christian home. And so we were part of a youth group and we went on youth trips and it was just a great time. We went to summer camps and a part of that and really building relationships all during my, my childhood days.

Jordan mendoza (03:21.64)
Awesome. Appreciate you sharing that context. So being in sports your whole life, are there some coaches that you can think about that have had a significant impact on you and some of the things that they instilled in you or invested in you maybe you still carry with you today?

Russell Rogers (03:41.353)
Yeah, absolutely. You know, the one coach that really made a huge impact on my life was my college coach, actually. His name was John Scalinas, Italian guy. And he, he, we would sit underneath this oak tree in the fall and we had practices three days a week games on Saturday. We would sit underneath this oak tree with about 60 guys, three days a week. And we had to purchase this book called Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz.

And we would go underneath this tree and he would basically articulate different things throughout different chapters as we would, you know, we'd have to read in advance and then he would go through this. One of the things that he said to all of us was the five most important words in life is surround yourself with good people. And that has stuck with me forever. And, and he said the least favorite word in life is I and the favorite one favorite word is.

We so, you know, these are principles that, that I have carried on in my life that he has made such an impact. You know, we couldn't have long hair. We couldn't have mustaches, facial hair. We couldn't have any of these things. We couldn't even spit in the dugout. We had to spit out in the dirt. Cause he goes, I don't want to walk, you know, through your spit in the dugout. You know, there was no chewing, no tobacco. I mean, this guy was clean slate, kind of like the, the Yankees, you know, no facial hair, but it was really impactful in my life because it was just like.

You know, this guy means a lot. And so when we talk about people in our lives that have made impacts, John Scalinas from Cal Poly Pomona was a huge influence on my life going forward.

Jordan mendoza (05:23.886)
Awesome. Awesome. And so outside of the sports side of college, were you there? Was there anything academically that interested you? Was there kind of a path that you wanted to leverage for that as well?

Russell Rogers (05:37.318)
So the funny thing is I went to school, I really didn't know what I wanted to do. You know, my dad really wanted me to take over his construction business and go that route, but that wasn't something of interest to me. Number one, I didn't want to get up at 5 a and go to work at that time, because he spent long days in the office. But for me, I decided to go in hotel business management, which I did one year of that and then have not gone back and done it again. So you can see.

You can see that hotel business management really meant a lot, but you know, it was the business aspect of it is what I really gleaned from. And it was, it was a great structure. It was really good for my foundation as far as business minded, mindedness. And so it really established me from, from that, you know, state of mind, from the business perspective.

Jordan mendoza (06:27.966)
great. And so where did you go after college?

Russell Rogers (06:33.541)
So after college, I went actually to North went Northern California to Bethany University and continued to go into college for about two and a half years. And so I was a part of a college group down in Southern California. So when I moved to Northern California, I started going to this Bible school and really kind of, you know, kind of leaning that way. And so when I went to Bethany, I really felt like, you know, a calling to.

serve in the youth capacity, working with kids. And it was interesting because my first year there, I met one of the professors who gave me an opportunity to interview for a job. And that job was a youth pastor right there in the town of Scotts Valley and ended up getting the job. And so while I was going to school, I was also youth pastoring at this church for six years. And so it was an awesome time of...

really developing me and developing my skills of speaking and working with youth and taking, you know, kids around the world. We went to Fiji, we went to Costa Rica, we went to Mexico, and we went in our own communities just serving people and really exposing kids to missions work and giving of themselves to other people.

Jordan mendoza (07:48.798)
Yeah, that's great. And I'm sure that just, you know, those trips for kids are life -changing. I know because at 16, I went to the Philippines for the first time by myself and for three months, and that was just a life -changing experience. I got to truly see what real poverty looked like and some of the lack of resources and all the things that we are truly fortunate. Even though I was poor in the States, it was definitely not poor.

when I saw some of the conditions and how people lived in a third world country. So just that side of just understanding culture and then like you said, understanding how to give to people and how to serve. All those are just such great life lessons and experiences.

Russell Rogers (08:23.426)
Yeah.

Russell Rogers (08:35.554)
Absolutely. I think it's important to expose our kids to that because most kids even in areas here in the United States that we look at as kind of quote unquote poverty level. When you go down to Mexico or some of these third world countries, it's incredible. It's eye opening. And you see what they, these kids are, I mean, when I worked in Mexico, we went to the dump.

and people were living in the dump. And so when you look at those circumstances, it's just absolutely crazy. It's eye -opening. You're filled with compassion. You just want to do something to help these people to have a better life. And it doesn't really take a whole lot, but you just show a little love and it goes along.

Jordan mendoza (09:21.758)
Yep, 100%. So you do that for six years. Sounds like you had a lot of adventures, a lot of impact, which sounds like was the goal. So what did you end up diving into next?

Russell Rogers (09:36.289)
So after, while from youth pastoring after six years, we went to Mexico about six different times. And it was one of those trips that I really felt like, wow, this is an amazing place. And my wife and kids at the time, they were, my kids were very, very young. My son was five months, but I really felt a calling to go and to serve at this orphanage Rancho de Susneos down in Tocate, Mexico.

So I was down there and I just kind of have one of those all moments where I really just, I was weeping and I was crying and I just felt this, you know, this, this burden to work with these people. And so after, you know, much prayer and communication with my family and a lot of talks, we decided to uproot from Scotts Valley and then move down to, to Cotting Mexico. In fact, when we moved there, we, right prior to that, we didn't even have a.

They had a slab that was there and they said this is your home. Well, we don't have anybody to build it, but they had some money. So my dad, who was a contractor, he took a team of guys down there and framed it in one trip. And then on another trip came back, did all the sheet rocking, you know, tape texture and everything and really got the house into livable condition. But when we moved down there, we had zero kitchen, nothing. We just had, you know, the floor. And so we would do all of our dishes out of the bathtub.

We have a little hot plate that we would do our cooking on and it was kind of crazy, but it was a nice house, but we just had no kitchen. And it was actually on one trip, I was speaking at San Diego and the youth pastor was my brother's old college roommate. And he was the new pastor there of a significant size church. And so when we went over there to speak on a Wednesday night, the, you know, the youth pastor took me aside afterwards and he's like,

So what is it you need down there at the orphanage? And I was naming off all of these things that the orphanage needed. And he goes, no, no, no, no. What do you need? And I go, well, we don't have a kitchen. And a few days later, he comes down with a couple of guys. They measured everything out. And within a few weeks, they had everything ordered up and brought all of the kitchen cabinets, the sink and everything and framed it all in and boom, we had a kitchen just like that. And so it was just, it was, you know.

Jordan mendoza (11:50.298)
That's awesome.

Russell Rogers (11:53.278)
an amazing miracle, but it was, you know, he wanted to, he really wanted, you know, to serve myself and my family, you know, and be a blessing. And it was, you know, so we, we served two years of raising money and bringing groups down to Mexico, went up and down California and Arizona and stuff and, and Nevada and basically raising money.

Jordan mendoza (12:00.35)
That's great.

Jordan mendoza (12:14.718)
That's awesome, man. And so after those two years, what was that next stop on the trail? You already blazed the trail down in Mexico, helped a lot of people, which is awesome. So what was the next venture you guys decided to do?

Russell Rogers (12:35.485)
So after our two year commitment there, we kind of like, we were like, well, now what, you know? So we actually moved in with my parents and my childhood pastor about a couple of months into our time of just being at my parents' house. He called and he's like, hey, I know that you know, you have a construction background and everything. And at the university, which I went to school for two and a half years after Cal Poly.

He said, you know, Bethany University is in need of repair. They need to get everything updated, improved inside, outside everything. And so, you know, would you be interested in that? I'm like, yeah, absolutely. So went over there, met with the president and interviewed for that job, got that job, ended up serving there eight years at the university and basically started a development office there. I basically brought in teams to...

work on construction and improving the libraries and the dormitories and houses, you name it, whatever was dilapidated, we helped improve. And it was just an amazing opportunity and brought in this group called MAPS, Mission America Placement Service. And these were volunteers, mostly retired people that lived in their RV who had construction background. So they would come there and they would live on the campus. They would eat in the cafeteria, but they would work for free.

for the college. And so we through maps, we were able to accomplish a lot and a lot less money. And then after I helped the softball coach, because I have the sports background, I helped him as an assistant the first year I was there. And he's like, Hey, why don't you, you know, maybe look at taking on this role, I'm taking on a greater role in my electrician company. So I'm not going to coach the second year. So I ended up taking on the head coach position at Bethany University for women's softball.

So for seven years, while doing the development office and improving the campus, I was also the collegiate softball coach, which was an amazing experience. And just traveling, playing in tournaments, and really speaking into the lives of these young women. And it was just an awesome opportunity competing, yet having these personal relationships that really, hopefully, carried them along ways in their.

Jordan mendoza (14:48.414)
That's awesome. Yeah. And that sounds like a pretty cool reunion back to school, right? So did you, while you were there, I'd love to know, did you finish your degree during that time or hopefully they just gave it to you for free since you were on the payroll for so long, right? And the coach, they double dipped on you. So, but now, so did you end up finishing up there?

Russell Rogers (15:13.593)
That's hilarious.

Yes, I finished at Bethany. So I have, you know, from Cal Poly degree and from Bethany degree. And so it was just, it was, it was awesome. And it really set the foundation for what was to lie ahead in my life, which of course we don't know at that time what it is, but it really was substantial in the people that spoke into my life. The kids that I was surrounded by just meant so much that I still stay in touch with some of those kids today.

And now they're married and they've got families and kids. And it's just awesome to see where they have come from 18 years of age to now in their mid to late 30s.

Jordan mendoza (15:58.078)
Yep. Yeah, that's, that's really cool just to see that, that change in the timeline and all the awesome stuff that I'm sure they're up to. So awesome. Very cool. So I, after the, the old college, second college try plus the years of service and being a coach, you know, you didn't stop there, right? So what, what was the, what's, what was that next move that you said, you know what, let me go ahead and do this.

Russell Rogers (16:22.039)
I did not

Russell Rogers (16:29.431)
Yeah, that's a, that's a great question. It's, it's interesting because while I was coaching at Bethany, you know, I'd have young kids that came up in the community and parents, and they're like, Hey, you know, can you teach my kid, how to hit, you know, how to feel, you know, or whatever, whatever they needed help with. And so I started doing little side lessons, with kids in the community. And, and it was an awesome opportunity. And so.

As my eight years at Bethany ended, I was like, okay, well, I can continue doing this and continue to build that up. But I really loved what I was doing at Bethany, which was landscaping. So I was developing the campus inside and out, and I was improving the outside of the community. And I was like, wow, I love this. You know, the campus is looking so much better and I love being outside. So it's a great combination. So I ended up taking personal training with baseball and softball athletes, starting it while I was at Bethany.

and then continuing it after I left. I also started a landscape company right after that, right after I left, because I had that passion and just started with doing some maintenance and different things. So I had this personal training landscape thing going and it actually continued on for 20 years. And landscaping has still continued and personal training. I ended in a COVID years when everything shut down on the parks and the schools and everything. It was a good time to pivot and, you know, take a break from that. But.

It was amazing opportunity because as I looked at this and I was like 20 years of doing personal training and landscaping and being outside using my hands, using my creativeness, and then also speaking into kids' lives. You know, the great thing was, is like taking a kid whose parent would bring them, and even if it was one session or if it was several sessions or whatever, you had them for 30 minutes to up to an hour.

And it was just, you know, my, the parent would say, my kids not even touching the ball. Like, can you just help them? Like, even if they foul the ball off, like that would be a huge success. And so it's just taking kids and really building confidence in them to whatever level they are at. You know, some kids came that really had great abilities, but it was really developing that relationship with that kid in 30 minutes to an hour. But some kids, I ended up training all the way through college. I trained them, you know, 10 years. And so it was just,

Russell Rogers (18:47.933)
It was very meaningful to me and impactful for me, but it was a way for me to not only teach the kids a skill level, but confidence level and to speak in their lives. And they would open up and share with me, you know, about what's happening in their lives. And so in a way, you know, I'm kind of like a therapist of some sort, you know, speaking in their lives and just kind of giving them some guidance, whatever it may be. but then also developing that relationship with the parents, which was so meaningful as well.

Jordan mendoza (19:16.734)
Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. And that's, you know, having mentors and coaches and especially at an early age, you know, that can really set a strong foundation and set the tone for what's to come for them. You know, and the fact that you've had the ability to do this for like decades into their lives, you know, I'm sure that's been really, really amazing to see.

Russell Rogers (19:38.482)
Absolutely, you know, I've got, you know, I got one kid, Troy Miller, he plays in double A for the New York Mets. He's in the farm.

Russell Rogers (19:57.768)
Michigan and he goes to school University of Michigan and then after Michigan he is drafted by the Blue Jays and then he goes on and gets traded to the Mets but the cool thing is is I spent 10 years with this kid and even during You know his times in the summer we would we would go out and we would have workouts and you know, we developed really good chemistry and a good relationship with one another and This last December I married him

And so it was really awesome to feel that sense of what I felt towards him, but what he felt towards me. And so it was awesome to go down to Florida this last December to meet his new bride and family and to have that relationship with him that will be lifelong. And that's what it's all about.

Jordan mendoza (20:45.342)
Yeah, very cool. That's awesome. So let's talk a little bit about landscaping because my dad just retired after having a business for 40 years. And so when I first met him when I was 12 and he already had his company for about a decade at that point. And so I basically got put to work.

Weeding and mowing and trimming and weeding and just kind of all of that That stuff and you called it creativity, but I did not like it. Let me tell you it wasn't wasn't really for me But I did it and I actually had a point Where I actually was running a crew of five guys and we did 35 yards a day all Residential and DC Maryland in Virginia and man it was just nuts like 12 hours a day going at it, you know and everything had to be perfect because my

Dad is a big perfectionist. So he if there was one stick out of place that we left like he'd make us go back and pick that thing up, you know, so but yeah, I'd love for you to just to talk about the grind, you know that it is because you know, there are some obviously the creative side when it comes to design and things like that, but when you're in the thick of having to Execute and you know get a lot of volume done Can you talk about some of those days? I'm sure you had some

have some stories of grinding and working really long hours and being dead tired and having to get back up again the next day and do it all over again.

Russell Rogers (22:20.607)
Absolutely. You know, I told myself when I didn't want to work for my dad, I didn't want to get up at 5 a And, you know, here I am getting up at 5 a and doing landscaping, you know. But yeah, you know, when you start your own business, it's it's you and you alone. And that's the way it was for me. And so for many years, you know, I'm just trying to build this thing up so that I could, you know, get to a point where I could bring somebody on. And so I started with the maintenance.

And you know, it's just knocking on doors. It's, you know, it's having referrals. It's, it's advertising or whatever to, you know, to help get your business going. And so it was, it was a grind to just get the thing off the ground because we live in a, in an area where it's very green. It's coastal. So things are growing, growing, growing. Well, that also means there's a lot of companies as well that are doing the exact same thing. And there's a lot more companies now 20 years later than there were then, but there was still a lot.

And so, you know, these bigger companies, you know, they're taking up, you know, a lot of the space and a lot of the business, but you just get in there and you kind of get, you know, your foot in the, in the door and you start building your company. You start getting referrals because you're doing a good job and whatnot. And then all of a sudden people are like, well, can you do this? And so the grind for me was really learning, you know, not only the plants and studying that, but also learning the different ways of integrating new watering systems.

you know, learning the soil and studying all of that. So, you know, you realize that like there's, it's not just, you know, digging a hole and putting the plant in the ground and, you know, hope that it lives. I mean, there's a lot to it and really learning about the different areas just right here in, you know, two to three miles, the soil changes so much, but the grind is, is really getting up and making it happen for yourself. And so, you know, we have a choice every single day, right?

of what we're going to do with our day, how we're going to do it. And I'm the kind of person like, I want to get up. I'll take a few minutes and just kind of meditate and think about my day. Do something. And then I want to do something big right off the gate. And once I do that, that I'm ready to go after my day, you know, and when, when that happens, I'm, I'm set and I'm ready to go. And so now I have built the business. I basically have, you know, six guys. I purposely keep the business small. So it doesn't become a big headache to me.

Russell Rogers (24:39.643)
and you know, I work with this, but you know, there are days, man, when you're out there, you know, we did a deck and a big backyard about two years ago and we had 58 holes that we had to dig, you know, with this for this deck and these holes are, you know, 18 inches in diameter and three and a half feet deep and the, and the soil is hard. And so, you know, it was like, we were digging like five holes a day because it was just like, you know, hitting concrete.

You know, so yeah, you're sweating it out. You're working hard. You're rolling up your sleeves, but then your day's not done because then you got to think about, all right, well, what about next day? What are we going to do the next day and the preparation for that? And so there's a lot that goes into the daily lifestyle of running and owning a business that you got to do. Sometimes you don't think about when you're doing it or getting involved in it. And so, you know, it's over 20 years now it has become.

you know, more of a science for me. And I've got, I've got a system that's set. I've got great guys that work for me and it's developing, you know, because not everybody is a great guy. You got to train them. You got to get them into the way that you see things. Just like your dad said, you know, picking up sticks, you know, making sure the place is clean. And I'm that way as well. And so I want the, I want the owner to know that we have done a great job. We left it in a good place and they're happy.

But I also want to integrate that into design work and also implementing something that's from dirt into a beautiful landscape that they can enjoy for years to come.

Jordan mendoza (26:16.11)
Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, that level of service definitely makes a difference. And my dad had customers that were basically when he first started and then they were still customers when he finished. And now one of my brothers is kind of taken over and is running it now. But yeah, that's what's going to happen when you do a great job is not only are people going to stick with you,

But they're also going to tell other people about you, like you mentioned earlier, from the referral standpoint, because I'm sure you have some lifelong customers and they've probably brought other people with them. And those people keep bringing people and it becomes something that is very scalable. Doing a good job is scalable. Doing a bad job is not.

Russell Rogers (27:02.456)
Yeah, absolutely.

Yes. Well, the one thing, you know, with landscaping is that it's one of the first things that people will cut out of their budget. You know, and they're like, well, I can mow my lawn or, you know, I can go out and I can water the plants or, you know, I can do the small things or, you know, it's a let you know, somebody builds a home or remodels a home. It's the last thing that goes in as landscaping. And so you may spend hours and hours and hours on plans and development and never get the job.

So you have to learn about the word no, because it's like a salesperson, right? They hear hundreds of nos every single day. In business, you're going to hear nos. And you've got to be able to move past that and just say, on to the next, on to the next. And there is going to be a next. And there is going to be opportunities. And especially if you do a good job and people trust you.

and they love your work, they see your work, and you've got great referrals, then that's going to go a long ways.

Jordan mendoza (28:08.158)
Yeah, 100 % great advice. So, you know, it sounds like in your entire story and in your entire journey, you have been moving the entire time. So it's actually no surprise that you've started this movement called Move 365 because you've been moving all around the world. You've been moving, you know, on the field, you've been moving, you know, that's been kind of the common denominator and everything is you've...

Russell Rogers (28:19.67)
Absolutely.

Jordan mendoza (28:36.574)
You continue to move. So I'd love for you to just jump into what is this all about and why is this so important to you that people just get moving and how much moving is too little and how much moving is too much, if that's a thing. I don't know. I guess it could be depending on if you've got something going on that where you need to take it easy. Right. But yeah, I'd love for you to dive into that.

Russell Rogers (29:04.565)
Yeah, absolutely. You know, during COVID, as I mentioned earlier, personal training kind of came to an end. It was like, you know, I've done this for 20 years and I stepped back from it during COVID. And I started thinking like, okay, well, if I stop this, then what? You know, we continued the landscaping business, which still, we still continue today. But it was one of those things that's like, you know, I think this may be a time to step back and.

rethink about what I want to do. And maybe I'm just going to focus on landscaping for the rest of my life. Maybe that's it. So I stepped away from, you know, hanging up the cleats and hanging up the glove and the bat and ball and personal training. And it was not an easy choice, believe me, because it's been all my life has been sports and people and kids and all my adult life has been working with kids to some capacity. So hung them up.

And, just focus on my business, focused on landscaping. And then about a year and a half later, I was like, you know, I started like, all right, something's missing. Like there's something missing in my life. What is it? And I realized, you know, I just don't have that personal connection because you know, landscaping is, you know, I can affect somebody's landscape, but it doesn't really do anything to their heart. It doesn't do anything to their life. Yeah. They get to go out and enjoy it and sit in their yard and.

This is great, but that's it, you know? And so for me personally, I was like, you know, cause I've been speaking in the kids lives all these years and it's like, what is it? So I bought this journal and I carried that journal around for a year, year and a half. And finally I was on a flight to the East coast and I was like, all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks. And I was like, my goodness. And I, so I just started writing and writing and writing and writing. I was like, wow, this is, this is crazy, but what, what is this about? Like I'm seeing.

things that are starting to develop. But what is it? And after some thought and everything, I was like, well, I'm going to write a book. I never thought of myself as an author or a writer, but I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to tackle this. And so as I was writing, I was like, well, maybe I'm going to just turn this into more than one book. And so I ended up doing a series of five books and basically it's from infant to five years of age. And the books are called today. And basically the, the message is very simple to people.

Russell Rogers (31:26.916)
encouraging families to get outside and do activities together, no matter the makeup of your family. You know, if it's two parents, if it's one parent, if it's grandparents, whatever the case may be, get out and move and come together and do activities together. So that's kind of where everything started. And then a couple of months after we launched the books last June of 2023, a friend of mine said, Hey, why don't you take one of your messages, one of your pages out of your book and apply it into real life?

So we talked about it and we said, all right, well, let's just do something simple. We live on the coast. We have West cliff. It's a great walk from natural bridges to Santa Cruz lighthouse. Let's do a walk. It's two miles long. So promoted that did it. 25 people showed up and I was like, wow, this is, this is amazing. And so we decided instead of doing something quarterly and doing something different quarterly, we decided let's do the walks every single month on the second Saturday of every month. So we started doing.

the walks, which is a part of the umbrella of move today, three, six, five, because the importance is, is for people to get outside and move. Some people don't move at all. They're on the couch. They're watching TVs after work. They go to bed, they get up, they work, they sit back on the couch, they eat dinner and they go to bed. You know what I mean? It's that routine, but it's like, you know, obesity is a huge part. You know, mental illness is a huge part of our society today. And I'm telling you.

If you get out and move, it is a game changer, not only for your body, but for your state of mind. And you know, there is a disconnect in people. And I was in New York city about a year and a half ago, Jordan, and I went to this table for lunch. I'm sitting there. It's college football time. So I'm watching a couple of games, a family parks next to me at the table. They all sit down. The kids are, you know, like roughly aged 10 to 13. They sit down.

And immediately all four of them, parents included, jump on their phones. How many times do we see this in our society today? People go on vacation, they come to the beach, they sit down immediately on their phones. You know, they're posting, they're texting and missing opportunities to connect with their kids. Right? And so these books are about encouraging families to get together and get outside and move. The walks are about getting families and colleagues and friends and community.

Russell Rogers (33:50.224)
to get out and move. The importance is, is our body needs it. We need the vitamin D from the sun. We need to bring down the mental illnesses that are in our life, lives that are happening more and more and more in society today. The anxiety, the stress. Imagine if you just go out for a walk in the evening or in the morning, what that does to start your day or end your day. And it's so important each and every day that we get out and do some form of exercise, whether it's walking,

It's surfing, it's biking, it's hiking, it's golfing, it's tennis, whatever it may be, just to get out and move and really try to do it on a daily basis. And that's what Move Today 365 is all about.

Jordan mendoza (34:32.094)
So let me ask you this, brother. Is this a rain or shine situation here? Like we're moving, doesn't matter. Rain, sleet, snow, we're moving outside or are there folks that might say, hey, what if I do lapster on my garage? Does that still count for movement? Is that comfortable for you? Okay. Rain, guys, you're gonna see me and no umbrella, I'm not an umbrella guy.

Russell Rogers (34:53.52)
Absolutely, absolutely. You know, we had one of the...

Jordan mendoza (35:00.934)
I don't know how many listeners are umbrella folks, but for me, it's not umbrellas. It is hoodies. I just put a hoodie on and you just march in the rain, but I'm from Oregon, you know, and so we don't really believe in umbrellas up there. So.

Russell Rogers (35:17.52)
I was visiting a friend one time up in Eugene, Oregon, and he goes, you want to go throw the football around? And I'm like, it's dumping rain. And he goes, if we wait for it to stop, we're never going to do anything. So we threw on the raincoats, we threw on the hoodies, and we went out into the park and we're throwing the football in the pouring rain. And then you go home and you change and you dry out. So yeah, I mean, we've got followers on the East Coast. Snow is a thing, cold is a thing. So you have malls that you can go to, that you can walk inside.

Jordan mendoza (35:27.422)
Hahaha!

Jordan mendoza (35:36.638)
That's it.

Russell Rogers (35:46.328)
you know, to get some steps in. I had a husband and wife who basically set a goal to do 10 ,000 steps a day, which is a lot, but they would, they live out in the sticks. And so they would come home and they're like 7 ,000, you know, steps into it and they still have 3000 more. And he goes,

Jordan mendoza (36:02.302)
They just gotta go check their mail and that's like 10 ,000 steps, you know

Russell Rogers (36:09.68)
but he said, you know, we would, you know, to get our goal, we would walk back and forth on our living room to get the last 3000 steps in, you know? And so there are ways to do it. You know, my friend Renee, she's in Pennsylvania and she's like, she sent me a post a couple of months ago when it was just dumping rain. So she's going up and down her stairs, you know? So there are definitely other alternatives. If the, if it's inclement weather and you can't drive, you can't go, you can definitely walk and move inside.

Jordan mendoza (36:32.574)
Yeah.

Russell Rogers (36:39.214)
No doubt.

Jordan mendoza (36:39.494)
Yes, so I what I hear from that is there are ways to make it less painful, right? You can gamify it, you know, give yourself a Steps or points or something make it make a game out of it so that you can kind of get yourself moving So for me like I love to play basketball. So just pick up at the park or L over at LA Fitness or and I also like to breakdance in my garage and teach breakdancing in my garage, so I

However you like to move guys, it doesn't have to be walking. It could be flailing around if you're just learning something new or playing cornhole in the backyard, right? I mean, it's really just anything to get your blood flowing and being outside, of course, there are some positive benefits of the sun and fresh air and seeing nature and things like that. So awesome, man. And I love the fact that that's something that you are, A,

You're modeling every day because you're showing up every day and you're showing people. Hey, this is what it looks like So kudos to you for doing that on all your channels. You're you're being consistent You know you that's one of the things that helps create momentum, you know is that consistency so And it's not easy guys, right? It's not easy and sometimes you know You're gonna fall off the horse and you and the most important thing you can do is just pick yourself back up and get back on you know

And and I think when you got a guy like Russ who has got a movement and there are people that are in this journey together It's very helpful from an accountability standpoint, you know having those accountability partner So what I'd love for you to share is what resources do you have or where? Would you like people to go to connect with you further?

Russell Rogers (38:25.481)
Absolutely. You can go to my website at move today, three, six, five .com on there. You'll see the podcast. You'll see the dates for our walks. You'll see a little give a TV show that's on there with Cindy Whitman. You'll see my books that are for sale on that website. You can also follow me on Instagram at move today, three, six, five. you Facebook me, at Russell Rogers, two S's, two L's, no D and Rogers.

I got to say that because Aaron Rogers really kind of, you know, set the tone for it, you know, and now he's got a D in his name. It's like, man, now every time I got to say it, I got to say Rogers, no D. but anyway, moved today, three, six, five, that is the handle. And, so, you know, definitely follow me. I'd love to have you be a part DME and, we can talk about, you know, getting moved today and the walks in your community and really getting people fired up about getting out there and moving. And I just.

You know, something you mentioned Jordan is like, it's really so important about it is about the camaraderie and the, the community of just getting out and being with people, whether you're gaming it to, you know, some points or, you know, some sort of, reward or whatever. But, you know, really for me, like getting out and doing the walks is awesome because I'm meeting people all the time, meeting new people and, you know, hearing about their story and about their life, you know, we're walking two miles, or even if I'm just on my own walking, you know, my daily walk, you know, and.

and coming by people and greeting people or whatever. It's just meeting people in the community. It's a great thing. And, you know, walking with your head up and feeling good about yourself and breathing deep and just, it does something to everything, every aspect of your life, mentally, physically, spiritually.

Jordan mendoza (40:10.426)
And what I'd love for you to share or you know, if someone is listening to this right now and they are saying, you know what? I haven't moved in a long time, you know, and you know, they're just being honest with themselves like hey I I really do exactly what you described earlier I get home from work and I you know grab a beverage and I kind of sit down and all of a sudden I'm three seasons into a Netflix series and and

and I haven't moved and then I fall asleep and you know on the couch instead of even getting in bed and I wake up and I go back to work and I kind of repeat this process right because I think that's a reality for some people so what would you say to those folks that maybe don't really have a system in place for movement I guess top three ways to get one started.

Russell Rogers (41:01.358)
Mental is everything, you know, your mind controls everything. And so it's like, if you're going to change your eating habits, it's really mental. You know, your stomach may say, yeah, you know, I'm hungry and everything, but your, your mind can overcome that by eating less or pushing away from the table after the first plate or getting less on your plate. It's the same thing as far as movement. It's like, you know, it's the mental aspect. So some people love to get up and start their day with movement. They'll, you know, they'll go out and take a walk or they'll, you get in the gym.

and they get going first thing. I am not a gym rat in the morning. I am an afternoon. That's what works best for me. So I will spend my day, whether it's working on books or whether it's working on landscape projects or whatever, but my slot for me works best between three and five. So at the end of the day, before I sit down and eat and before I shower and before I sit down and turn on the television, I like to go home, you know, I will grab a drink or whatever, but I'm immediately changing my clothes.

and I'm getting in the garage and I'm working out. So I don't go to a gym. I've got the garage aspect. And so I just, you know, it's a mental choice because we're faced with choices every single day, what we're going to do with our time, what we're going to do with our lives, how we're going to fill up our schedule. So that choice of saying, yes, I need to do this. Now, for starters, for those people that are really struggling with doing anything, you know, if you could just do it, you know, five to 10 minutes a day.

Just say, I'm going to do five to 10 minutes a day. I'm just going to walk around the block and I'm going to develop a habit. And once you develop that habit, then man, you're, you're golden. And then you just increase that to 20 minutes. Then you increase it to 30 minutes. It's not like you've got to spend hours and hours and hours of doing this kind of stuff. It's really what benefits you. But you know, whether you're wanting to lose weight, whether you're wanting to feel less stressful, you're wanting to feel less anxiety, you want to be healthy for yourself and for your kids and for your grandkids, whatever it may be.

These are things, but you gotta think about yourself, you gotta think about your health, you gotta think about your mental aspect and your spiritual aspect. So the thing is, is start with baby steps. Start with little decisions, but make the right choice. And the right choice is to get up and move. Whatever that move means to you, make that decision.

Jordan mendoza (43:15.132)
Awesome. Love it. So I'd love for you just kind of in closing here to just share one quote that has impacted you in a significant way. So whether it could be something that you've got somewhere in your office or that you see consistently or maybe one that just comes top to mind that has been a big impact to you.

Russell Rogers (43:34.913)
Absolutely, there was a on ESPN, there was a 30 for 30 on Jim Valvano. Jim Valvano coached North Carolina State in the 80s, ended up getting fired, ended up getting cancer. And he was at the ESPYS award. He had taken a team North Carolina State and he had taken this team that were major underdogs. They ended up winning like 11 games in a row or something like that to get to the final game against the Houston Cougars.

who were the, you know, a king, the dream, Elijah one was the center and they were slated to, you know, to wipe out the competition, right? And so somehow he navigates this team through all of the obstacles to get them into the finals. And they ended up winning a last second shot, which was incredible. But when he was speaking at the SB's award, he said, there are three things in life. If we could do these three things every single day.

And these are impactful for me because it's right where I'm at. He said, if you can laugh every day, if you can cry every day, and if you can think every day, that's a great day. And I think about that saying a lot and I share that with people a lot because think about it. Most people can laugh every day. Not everybody can tear up and cry every day. That's a little bit more difficult. And a lot of people can't think every day.

Like, I mean, get in and really think about, you know, strategy and thinking about what you want to do with your goals and thinking about what you want to do with your business or with your life or, you know, helping your kids or whatever it is. But if those three things, if you can do every day, laugh, cry and think you've had a great day.

Jordan mendoza (45:15.098)
Awesome awesome. Appreciate you sharing that and yeah, Jimmy V I know there's the Jimmy V foundation so if you're a charitable person feel free to donate to that definitely impactful and what a journey kind of a Cinderella story to do something that was just again a trailblazing journey to a Championship so appreciate you sharing that. Hey, it's been great Russell having you on the blaze your own trail podcast

Russell Rogers (45:22.591)
Yes.

Jordan mendoza (45:41.79)
You have blazed, I would say, many trails along your journey. And I love the fact that you are not stopping here. You are continuing to move every day and to help people also move every day. So keep up the great work, and we'll be talking to you here soon.

Russell Rogers (45:43.038)
Thank you, George.

Russell Rogers (46:00.382)
Awesome, I appreciate it Jordan. Thanks for your time, man.

Jordan mendoza (46:03.004)
Yeah, my pleasure.