Passing The Torch

Ep. 40: Sydney Sullivan | Seizing the Day with Two INCH Decisions

• Martin Foster / Sydney Sullivan • Season 1 • Episode 40

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Ever wonder how you can truly seize the day and maximize each moment in your life?

Sydney Sullivan, the motivational host of the Maximize the Moment Podcast, joins us for an exhilarating discussion about his philosophy of life. He shares his personal journey, the importance of building partnerships, and his passion for personal growth. Sydney's unique perspective on generational wealth, not just in terms of finance but also personal development, will make you rethink your own strategies towards growth.

The conversation with Sydney doesn't stop there. We delve deeper into the concept of personal improvement, discussing the significance of learning from others, ruthlessly prioritizing and maintaining a work-life balance. Sydney shares an interesting approach to finding out life's real values and a secret to starting the day before it begins. As we wrap up the episode, we explore the impact of small decisions on our lives, supported by a captivating analogy of dominoes and a heartening story about a man saving starfish. Prepare to be inspired and motivated to make the most of each moment in your life.

Connect with Passing The Torch: Facebook and IG: @torchmartin

More Amazing Stories:
Episode 41: Lee Ellis – Freeing You From Bond That Make You Insecure

Episode 49: Ryan Hawk – Crafting a Legacy of Leadership

Episode 52: Riley Tejcek – Mission of Empowerment and Endurance


Martin Foster:

Do not pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one, Bruce Lee. My guest on this episode of Passing the Torch is Sydney Sullivan, host of Maximize the Moment Podcast. Maximize the Moment is about maximizing what is inside you and expounding on all the moments every day in your life. I first met Sydney in August at a conference. He is very passionate about his own podcast and using his platform to inspire others. One of the reasons I started my podcast Passing the Torch, is to help lift others. Podcaster, author of two books, speaker and Athlete. Without further ado, passing the Torch with Sydney Sullivan starts now. You see this big smile on your face and I'm liking it, Sydney. I'm liking it, man.

Sydney Sullivan:

I'm loving the opening quote. That's. That's something you get motivated off and off the rip. So yeah, I'm excited. I didn't know where you're gonna go with it, but that's exciting. That is Bruce Lee.

Martin Foster:

I can appreciate that when just felt I don't know if it called me. You know I was thinking like this just seems fitting for for you. I'm excited you hear me. I think we're driving down and I appreciate the fact that you took a lot of initiative at AFSA last month and that's really how this started. Was just you taking initiative and following through?

Sydney Sullivan:

and yeah, man just just props to you. No, thank you for the opportunity, first and foremost, as well as everybody that's that's out there that has supported civilian military family, but that's what it's all about is about initiative and being proactive. There's nothing but airing opportunity out here in the world, and if you don't step into it, no one's gonna do that for you. And so, besides the airing opportunity, it's about the partnerships, and so it took me a long time to learn that. You know that you were taught to strive for success, and Simon Sinek talks about there's, there's all these, these, all these self-help books in the library, but there's there's no section on on helping others, and so, and so once you, once you realize that I think my cup gets filled more with stepping in the gap for others and using the gifts that God has given me and how I can move that in that in humility, as well as get with other people that have great gifts and understand where my blind spots are, so that so I could be edified in the process love it.

Martin Foster:

I think that segway is perfectly into your podcast. So please discuss, and just what you're doing. Please discuss. Maximize the moment yeah.

Sydney Sullivan:

So MTM, or maximize the moment, is a nonprofit that myself kept. Pastor Kevin Hill, evelyn Hernandez, ricardo Valdez, danny Cox, all these people they help. So it's not just a me thing although I'm in, I'm on the face of it, but we do podcasts, we have books, but it's all about John 330. So he must become more, I must become less. That's the foundational thing. So God must become more, and then he'll bring more out of me the more that I raise him up the second level to that, the second tier that most people hear about, that is actually maximize the moment.

Sydney Sullivan:

Every moment not maximizes a moment minimized. So taking advantage of every opportunity that's out there, whether that's interpersonal relationships, striving to get better for personal growth, setting a growth mindset, developing others, all these things that we've done, from prison ministry to actually giving away scholarships at schools, any way that God calls us to step in the gap, we're gonna do that, and so it's a team effort. Like I said, I am the face of that company, but we're always looking at bringing more people in, because it's about maximizing the opportunity together and how we can go further, faster, together. So that's what it's all about.

Sydney Sullivan:

So you can reach me on the podcast. You can see us on YouTube, but a lot of people know me from the social media and the motivation and the inspiration. But what we try to get to is, in this information age, going past the information to the application was leased, to the transformation which leads to us where we need to go what did you say again?

Martin Foster:

if you don't max, if you don't max a moment, you minimize every moment not maximizes, a moment minimize yeah, that's, that's really good. And I think I mean, before we start recording, we were talking about how sometimes maybe the best things that didn't happen for you or to you are actually the best things that may happen to you and, in a way, I wrote down some notes because over the past month we've been texting back and forth, throwing around a few topics.

Martin Foster:

I live in an age now where people are just kind of like thinking. Sometimes it's about hey, I need to get mine or I need to make sure I'm good first. I want you to please expand on pouring in the cup of others.

Sydney Sullivan:

Yeah, so, very simply, I had a boss, a two star admiral, who described this practice for me and he kind of put this in a nutshell right, so as we're junior, people pour into our cups, and as we grow, we grow, we pour into our cups. We recline for more information, we're calling for more knowledge, and in between we start leading people right. But then, as we get to a certain point, right, our cups should be overflowing, and when that overflows, it should be falling down into the others. We should be given back. And so, to summarize, right, most 20 year successes are our most one night successes are 20 years in the making, and we should always be planting seeds for the shade of trees that we'll never sit under. And so, at the end of the day, that's what carries on.

Sydney Sullivan:

I'm big on degenerational wealth, and I don't mean that just like in a financial wealth, I mean like development and growth. So how can I carry the ball forward so that my son, my daughter, that person, that airman, that sailor, that marine, that whoever can carry the torch, pass the torch forward right and carry the ball forward. So I'm big in the pouring into others, because those are legacy is now just what you leave behind, but what others can accomplish because of you. And so how can I leave the bricks, how can I leave no stone on turn, so that other people don't have to do that work and they can propel them faster and further?

Martin Foster:

Brett 744, my guy.

Sydney Sullivan:

I'm excited. I'm excited to be here and that's probably where he gets. I get amped up Like you got this hair sailor or whatever Ferris wheel in the background. I love it. I think it's in the shot.

Martin Foster:

No, it's great, but it's like the banners, whatever we see on Facebook, where people post like a yellow banner but have some like motivational quote, so big shout out to Josh, absolutely. Or with ourselves sometimes, right, and I'm often in the past negative with myself and my thoughts. But as I started meditating and focusing on hey, here's some of the negative thoughts I had I would give myself, like here's two positive affirmations like hey, you changed four flat tires today.

Martin Foster:

Right, or just something like that. Just because we, your dialogue that ignites a success mindset, because, like to me, you come across as someone who has a very positive mindset which drives your outward, the inner mindset which drives your outward success.

Sydney Sullivan:

Okay. So I think that's a very deep question. There's a lot of reflection in that question, so I'm very sensitive to that and what comes to mind and it's not in my notes, but it comes to mind immediately is this I'll share a story with you, and everybody knows I like talk through stories. So there was this young man. He wanted to go out trick or treating with his brothers and his parents told him no, he was too young, and the young man got extremely angry, extremely angry. He ran outside through the door and he punched a tree and he was punching this tree until his knuckles bleeding. Well, young man comes back inside, he goes upstairs and obviously he's upset, he's physically upset, he's crying, he's just in tears and his mother comes upstairs and she shares a Bible verse with him, and the Bible verse is he that conquers the city. He that conquers his soul is greater than one that conquers a city. And so that young man grew up to be Dwight Eisenhower and going into World War II that was actually one of his reflection points was that that verse.

Sydney Sullivan:

And so how can we conquer our souls on a daily basis? What are those things that I need to get over there? Where are those generational gaps? Where are those? Sometimes we connect the dots, looking forward, by looking backward. So we look back at the generational gaps, we look at the things that maybe our parents accomplished or our relatives or whoever is within our line, that support system or maybe not support system, maybe you don't have anything there. And then where are the first steps, incrementally, that can take to move forward?

Sydney Sullivan:

The Bible verse that I cling to is just as the water reflects the face, so does one's heart reflect your life, so motives shape perceptions with shape behaviors. So I believe deeply that our motives and our actions and behaviors are driven from what's in our heart, from what's in our why. And so understanding your purpose, understanding your why, understanding why you're here on this planet, understanding why you're doing certain actions, why you react to certain situations, is super huge. So self-awareness is curative curative in terms of putting things in order in your life and curative in terms of healing. So the more self-awareness I can get, the more than I can step in the gap with others and then pour into the cup of others.

Martin Foster:

I love it, man. How many podcasts have you done?

Sydney Sullivan:

You know what? I think we're somewhere over 200. Yourself and Josh are the first invitations that I've actually taken.

Martin Foster:

Maximize the moment. I know I mean, yeah, you guys have had a ton of. I saw them. It was definitely like I think 254 or something like that. When I looked it up, I know it's definitely over 200. But yeah, like guest wise, that's what I meant to ask you.

Sydney Sullivan:

So guest wise? No, so I'll speak. Like I said, I'll go to prisons, I'll go to ALS and I'll do all kinds of speaking. But as far as like podcasts, there have been people that have reached out but after, like, looking at Josh, looking at yourself, what you stand for, and that's why I kind of poke and prod, because we got to be principle driven, we got to be value driven and those principles are going to draw practices, so all the activities in which we follow through, and so I can appreciate shout out to Josh here in front, I appreciate the activities and stuff he's involved. I'll shout out to you, martin, because and that's why I say I'm super grateful and appreciative I think we share in the same value system as well as pouring into others, and so if we can highlight each other and edify each other, then I'm all about it and moving forward together, get your message out to more people.

Martin Foster:

You're doing successful things. I mean it's, it's cool to see man Like, and I love the photo art that you had you have the hat on and you're like Superman, it looks I was like that's how I feel.

Sydney Sullivan:

I feel like I'm breaking out, but I want it to be value added. Right, I never want to be one just to talk, just to talk, and so that's part of stepping in a gap. Sometimes listening is learning, and when we were at ASSA, the Navy chief he was talking to the command chief he was talking about be a learn it all, not a know it all. So the more that we can learn from each other, the more we can grow, and then, when it's time to speak, then we'll speak.

Martin Foster:

Yeah, I remember that as well. Isom, I think, is this name and my career filled, Some active duty military, my career filled. There's a lot of know-it-alls and I'm like all right team, like we got to settle down. Man, like not everyone knows everything, something else you know. You'd send me some show notes, but there's a couple. I had some topics that was like how can I incorporate the two? When you feel focused and overwhelmed, what do you do to kind of reset and regain, like your momentum?

Sydney Sullivan:

So if I'm feeling off, then I usually know that I'm not moving in ruthless prioritization. So that was something one of my mentors has taught me like ruthless prioritization. We talked about work-life balance and all these things. I love what Jim Collins, who wrote Good to Great and Build to Last right. I listened to him. He did like an impromptu video, but he was talking about harmony, but in a percentage-wise right. So 50% of his day is dedicated to innovation and his job and whatnot, and 20% of his day is dedicated to his family. 10% of that is managing white noise, and then the other 30% or 20% or whatever is left, is dedicated to creativity.

Sydney Sullivan:

And so if I know that I'm off or I'm feeling off tent like, where am I overcompensating? In one of those buckets? Like, am I not spending enough time with family? Am I not spending enough time in the word in the morning or reading books that are going to edify me? Am I not having meaningful conversations? Am I just go, go, go, go, go. So understanding, if I look at your checkbook and your calendar, then I know what you value, right, wherever you spend your money and wherever you spend your time, I know what you value. So where am I spending my money and where am I spending my time, and then reflecting on that, and that really will provide the answers that I need as far as where I'm spending my time. So so I don't make any money from this podcast.

Martin Foster:

And I think when I did my outro for I did episode with Chad Goff, a chief master, chad Van Cleave I got us to give other people an opportunity and connect and share a message. So I spent a lot of money on podcasts and quit. I do like it. That's always fun when my wife sees a new Amazon box at the front door Separate from that, I love. I'm an eater, so I love to eat. I work out so I can eat and. But I love having a garage gym and I've spent a lot of money For the 15 years or so since I've had one. But I sent you a video. That's right, arnold was in the gym, arnold was in the gym.

Sydney Sullivan:

Yeah, I'm a big gym guy too and that's kind of shifted. I definitely have played athletics all over the world and stuff like that. So that was always kind of a stressful leaf, but I think more is. I'm in this season of learning and growing. One thing I like to share with people is obviously never let life happen to you. And so where does that come from? Is life was happening to me when I was at Scott Air Force Base and I was managing things, shout out to the MDT that was there at that time and the leadership at that time.

Sydney Sullivan:

But I was working all these long hours and we're trying to pilot a program and try to do new things and I was like I'm not getting my gym time in, right, I'm not de-stressing, I'm not getting that you stress, that I need. And so I decided to get up very early in the morning, just like you talked about 4am, right, and I was getting up at 4am and I would go to the 24 seven gym at Scott. And for the first two weeks I was kind of disoriented. I didn't really lift in the morning, I really wasn't paying attention to my environment. But after that two weeks, and that ambiguity cleared, I started seeing who was in the gym, and it was the wing commander, and it was a trans count commander and it was the chief, and it was these people that were the top 1% According to our military structure. And so it made me think a lot about how I orient my mornings.

Sydney Sullivan:

And so one thing I like to like, I like to tell young airmen or people in general start your day before you start your day.

Sydney Sullivan:

So I'm big on reading or working out in the morning, but I preferably like read the Bible, and then I read something that is going to help me learn, whether it's on the business side, cyber side, whatever the case is, and if I can get a workout in, cool. But I start my day before my start my day. I always like start edifying my mind or putting something that's going to challenge me at first, and then, by the time I'm stepping into work, I'm already locked and loaded and they're like what was this guy coming from? Well, I started two, three hours ago, right, and so there's a method to that. Like I said, in the 1% we're in the gym and if, if I was like, what's the delta? And so they were starting their day, they got their days are just full, chock full of their calendars and stuff, right, and so that's one tip I would give people is don't let life happen to you. Start your day before you start your day, and you'll be ready to go.

Martin Foster:

But I do legs on Monday and Monday mornings right. So there's something about squats on a Monday, but it it sucks. But it makes the rest of the week easier, because that to me is going to be one of the hardest things, especially I live in Ohio and the winter time it gets cold.

Sydney Sullivan:

Much like Maryland right.

Martin Foster:

But man doing squats on a Monday morning when it's, you know, 25 degrees outside, but I felt like it just makes me tougher.

Sydney Sullivan:

I love it. Yeah, mark Twain says eat the frog. Right, that's right, he sure. Yeah, that's right. The hardest part.

Martin Foster:

I'm like Clever Lane and Rocky three doing like pull ups on the beam and I'm training. I'm proud of you, man. I think this is the blossom of a new friendship relationship. A year from now, we're going to meet up. I want you to think about this. Okay, so a year from now, we'll both be at AFSA, or maybe AFA next year. We're celebrating, we're, we're having a enjoying steak. All right, what's your? What's your go to?

Sydney Sullivan:

I'm a big pizza and wings guy.

Martin Foster:

Okay, we're we're having pizza and wings. We're we're super excited. It's, it's a joyous occasion. We're celebrating yeah, all right, what a year from now? What are we celebrating?

Sydney Sullivan:

How we got 365% better Ooh.

Martin Foster:

That's good.

Sydney Sullivan:

That's it, 1% every day. Chris Nickick, that's my man. I don't know if you've heard the story, chris Nickick, that's my guy. So, chris Nickick, so have you? You've heard of the Iron man Marathon? Of course you have. Yeah, so athlete, right, athlete. Iron man is obviously one of the toughest competitions that is out there, besides for David Goggins, right, cause he just kills everything but he's not human.

Sydney Sullivan:

He takes souls, like if you've heard his book. But yeah, chris, nick. So back to the Iron man. Yeah, 112 mile bike ride, two mile swim, 26 mile run. Chris Nickick was the first person with downstreams room to complete the Iron man and he did this in 16 hours. He gets to the end of the run, everybody's cheering and they're like, hey, what are you going to do next, chris? And he's like I'm going to get 1% better. That's his. Why is every day I'm going to get 1% better. So we're going to meet here at AFA and another beautiful view next year. And how did we get 365% better? How did? Every day we took that incremental step to get better and better, and better and better, and so we're celebrating 365%.

Martin Foster:

better, it might be the name of this episode. Hey, wrapping up, I have some miscellaneous questions. There's no rhyme or reason. I just I'd like to have fun. I like to ask these on podcasts and I do switch them up. What's a random question you would ask at dinner to a?

Sydney Sullivan:

stranger. I ran the question that I would ask a dinner a guest at strange what would be something random, I don't know, I'm really so. Right now it's football season. What's your favorite football team?

Martin Foster:

Okay, let me switch it up on you. You're having a dinner party and the entree, or entrees, are pizza and wings. But it's real classy dinner party. You can invite five guests, past or present. Who are they?

Sydney Sullivan:

Jesus Gandhi MLK, my father and.

Martin Foster:

Winston Churchill. I quote him a lot, winston Churchill. So yeah that's good. In the last five years, what new belief or habit besides the 1% gym? What new belief or habit has most improved your life?

Sydney Sullivan:

That's a tough one because there are so many. Right now I'm locked into the domino. You probably heard the domino speech already, but yeah, I'm locked into the two inch decision. That's changed my life Incremental decisions, and so Don't know if you want me to share the story or not. But okay, all right, we can get into it. That's, it's one of my friend. You know what I brought you a domino. I didn't plan on telling this story, but I brought it because I figured we may talk to it, man.

Martin Foster:

Thank you for this. I've heard about this. Josh told me about this.

Sydney Sullivan:

He taught you yeah, all right, we're gonna get it is. It's here we go. So I Used to travel in South America and around the Caribbean. Obviously, down there they play a lot of dominoes. It is a part of their culture, it is ingrained within their culture and I loved it and I learned how to play dominoes from a team perspective and so there was a team aspect there, because in America we play like individually around the table. But my mentor said there's something interesting About a domino that is two inches in size but it can move something that's one point five times his size. So a two inch domino can move, a three inch domino can move a four point five inch domino, and so on and so forth. And so by time you get to the 26th iteration, you can actually knock over the Washington Monument. By time you get to the 23rd iteration, you can actually knock over the Leaning Tower of Pisa. By time you get to the 27th iteration, you can actually knock over the biggest building in the world, which is the Burj Khalifa. Have you been there?

Sydney Sullivan:

I've not so the Burj Khalifa is in Dubai. It's twice the size of the Empire State Building. It is so tall that you can watch the sunset from the bottom, and then you Could take the elevator all the way to the top and watch the sunset again. Why? Why am I talking about dominoes and Burj Khalifa's? And where's the principal? At Selly like? Where are you even going with this? So we all have goals and dreams and things that we cling to. We have big, audacious goals, things that scare us, just like that Burj Khalifa that's bigger than us. We have our own Burj Khalifa's, but it all started with a two inch decision. It all started with a little domino. It takes me no more than my pinky to knock over that domino, but it has exponential outcomes on everything we do. You can look it up on Google.

Sydney Sullivan:

We make tens of thousands conscious and unconscious decisions on a daily basis. Those are micro habits, micro decisions that we make on a daily basis, and every time I engage with my daughter, my wife, I engage with you and Josh and so many phenomenal people that would meet at AFA and ASFA Like, I'm always making a two inch decision, whether it's having an attitude of gratitude, smiling at somebody, shaking somebody's hand, just pouring into them, praying, from whatever I got to do to step in the gap with you. I'm making a two inch decision. So I always challenge somebody what is your two inch decision? And I keep that in my pocket every day. People are like why are you jingling all around in your pocket? Sully, why I got these dominoes to remind me that I'm always making two inch decisions.

Martin Foster:

But here in that story, I never thought about it like that. It's the perspective and it's an, it's an excellent point. I mean it's just yeah, you're right, man, that's, that's fantastic so I'll double down on the principle.

Sydney Sullivan:

As far as there was a man, there was a writer and he was riding by the seashore and he decided to go for a walk one day. And he gets out to the beach. He's his old man and he's he's seeing the Sun is coming up. But the Sun is quite not up yet. It's that sunrise. So he starts walking down the beach. He feels the breeze on his face but he sees a figure in the distance and he's like what's going on? He gets closer, he still really can't make it out. And he gets a little bit closer, he sees that it's a person and he sees the person is reaching down to the ground, but he just doesn't quite understand what's going on.

Sydney Sullivan:

And then gets closer and this young man and he's picking up starfish and he's chucking them into the ocean. So he gets, so he gets to the young man and he says what are you doing? Well, I'm, I'm trying to get as many starfish off this beach. And he looks down the beach and there's thousands and thousands of starfish. And the man says like there's no use in picking up all these starfish, you need to stop doing that.

Sydney Sullivan:

And the old man starts to walk away and the young man looks at him and he smiles and he picks up another starfish and he throws it into the water again and he says I may not be able to help all the starfish, but I can help this one and I can help as many as I can. And so that's the idea of like being selfless and stepping into the gap with others. I can't be captain America and save everybody, and I'm not trying to save everybody, but I can do what I can when I can and help as many as I can, as long as God gives me breath on this earth. It's amazing.

Martin Foster:

I feel like you've already, as I have one last question as a question asked on every single podcast. I feel like you've already answered it, but I'll throw it up there anyway. If there's a giant billboard that you could place anywhere in the world with your message on it for the world to see and read, what would your message say and where would you place the billboard? Jesus, that's it.

Sydney Sullivan:

That's it, jesus saves as it. Where would you place it? On top of the birch cleafa.

Martin Foster:

I figured as much. Again, just thank you. I know we probably get to. There's so much more. This is only the first of many podcasts that we can do together, but I wanted to have you on just kind of introduce you to my audience and for us to build a connection and really just Set a stone for, you know, the house of make, the house that we're gonna build together. I, you know, I'm not quite as good with the metaphors and you know phrases or quotes as you, man, but you, I respect you and it's it's awesome to see you have an infectious, positive attitude and Just next to being on my podcast, hey, people want to learn more about you. Where should they check you out? Where can they find you?

Sydney Sullivan:

So you can reach me at mtminspiration, at gmailcom. You can reach us at the podcast. You can reach us on YouTube, on mtm youtubecom. You can phone a friend. I'm the only Sydney salivating the gal. If you're military, uh, 703-835-2540. I'll hit you with some morning inspiration or try to connect with you, or however I can serve in the best way possible. So I'm on instagram, facebook, at sydney salivant, you'll find me, I'm there and I'll connect.

Martin Foster:

That concludes another episode of passing the torch. Big thanks to my guest, sydney salvin. If this is your first time listening to my show, here's a quick bio about me. I am active duty military and I have served for 21 years. I started this podcast in january 2018 because I've met so many wonderful people in my life. I love meeting new people, having conversations, learning their history and sharing their story.

Martin Foster:

If you want to support and you enjoyed the podcast, it would mean the world to me if you could follow, rate five stars and leave a positive review on apple podcast. If you are someone who listens on spotify, please follow and rate five stars on there as well. If you found value in the episode, took something away from the conversation and appreciated the insight Chances are there's someone out there who may as well, so I appreciate it. When you share, you can text episode to a friend and tag me and sydney salvin on social media. Let me know what you were able to take away. Thank you so much for spending time with me today. And finally, remember vision, relate, develop, take care everyone, foster out.

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