Enjoy the transcript below, slightly edited for readability. This interaction occurred spontaneously during one of Heroic Founder + CEO Brian Johnson's daily Live @ 1:01pm CT Coaching sessions with our Heroic community. To learn more about the resources discussed, head to: Heroic Coach, the Heroic Ambassador program, the Heroic Scholarship & Sponsor program, Heroic Finding Joe + Stutz Watch Parties, and Heroic Premium—which can be tried completely free for 30 days.

To connect with us about working together to transform your organization through Heroic @ Work, let us know here.

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Ruth Rabdau: I have talked to you a couple of times. I am a COO and VP, and I was the one who was asking about donating any Ambassador earnings instead of getting paid.

But I have two newly minted heroes here. These two are best buds at work. We've got Neil signed up for Heroic Coach, but what I don't know is how do we get his friend Michaela her link, so they can both start jamming this program. He is an assistant manager of one of our brands, and she is customer service rep but she will someday be a manager as well. They are rocking it here.

Brian Johnson: I love how you just celebrated Mikaela. Just seeing her heroic potential and the next steps in her journey, in partnership with you. That is so cool. I am so excited. That's so great.

Ruth Rabdau: Yeah, Well, thank you.

This has changed my life so much. I've got four people on the program. Somebody else just overheard us, and I just have to get approval from the owner, but we're gonna get him in the program, too. So super excited.

This has changed my life so much. I've got four people on the program. Somebody else just overheard us, and I just have to get approval from the owner, but we're gonna get him in the program, too.

Brian Johnson: Would you be open to sharing with us what you're sharing with them? Both the owner to get the blessing, and your team that is inspired them?

Ruth Rabdau: So here's the thing. I started this in February. (Three months ago.)

After talking to my doctor, I have some health issues, and she basically told me: “Hey, I get that you're fantastic at work. But you're doing just what I was doing when I had breast cancer. And I knew better as a doctor. You're overworking yourself. You almost died because you stayed at work too long and didn't go to the ER. You need to get some help.”

I went to a counselor, and the counselor was like: “Okay, Ruth, here's what you gotta do. You gotta resign from one of your boards. You gotta dial in a little more work life balance, right? And this year, you're gonna say ‘no’’ to taking on any new things. I know you’re type A. That's your jam.”

I took an emotional intelligence class, and Tom—one of your great heroes who's been a coach forever and a day, Tom Norwood—I'm in this class, he happens to mention Heroic Coach, and he mentions Stutz. I'm taking notes like crazy. I was sick that day. I almost didn't go to the class, but I sucked it up.

He said, “I think you gotta do this!”

I'm like, “You don't understand. I just committed to not signing up for anything. I mean, this is… I'm gonna like… this lady will fire me. My doctor is going to fire me.”

He's like, “No, no. Get the Heroic Journey Map, send it to your psychologist. See if she's okay with this.”

I'm like, “Well, she did ask me to do a couple of these things like journaling and meditating. Okay,”

So I bring them to her. She's like, “Alright. I can get behind this. Go for it.” So I sign up for this class on my own. Coach Class XIV.

I now have dialed things in so much that I don't need to have surgery. They're just working with me and my new protocol to get that dialed in and stay on top of it.

My psychologist broke up with me after 6 weeks. She's like, “You just need to pay better attention." She apparently didn't spend enough time with me to figure out I really am nuts, but anyway.

Positive changes. I have been, you know, doing this since February.

My husband, who joins nothing, is joining with my best friend because he's like, “I have just seen changes in you. You don't work until 10 o’clock or midnight anymore, but you're still bringing it at work. Your teams are succeeding. I need this.”

"I have just seen changes in you. You don't work until 10 o’clock or midnight anymore, but you're still bringing it at work. Your teams are succeeding. I need this."

So they signed up over the weekend, and he's doing it with my best friend who's going through cancer treatment right now. So this is going to be amazing for her.

But at work I sold it like:

“We don't have a big training budget. We’re in turnaround time. What can we do to get this newly minted assistant manager some training? We've got to get him some training. We can't afford something super expensive. I think this would be so great. I wish that I’d had this when I was in my twenties. Work-life balance would be better, AND I'd be bringing it better for my team.”

I took it into his manager said. “Hey, I'm gonna try to pitch this to the owner.” Wonderful guy but, you know, he's the business owner and we're in a tight budget. I wasn't sure he was gonna do this, but he gave the nod.

And like I said, somebody else overheard it, and they want to join, too. So I’m going to see about getting Paul as part of this, and we're gonna launch from here. If more people want to join. I think it's fantastic.

So people are seeing what it's doing for me, and just getting interested.

So people are seeing what it's doing for me, and just getting interested.

Brian Johnson: Ruth, I don't even know what to say about that other than that is the most beautiful encapsulation of why I have tattooed my body with this, and dedicated my life to serving you as profoundly as I can, and to hear the ripples.

And God bless Tom! I have to make sure that I thank, Tom. I'll send him a note.

Ruth Rabdau: He is awesome. I'm looking at this program, and I'm like “I'm not taking ice baths.”

He's like, “No, no, no, you don't have to!”

And I'm like, “I have a spinal injury. I can't do a Spartan Race race, even if I’d love to.”

He’s like, “What could you do?”

I'm like, “If I train I could probably walk out of Marathon.”

He's like, “You'll be fine. Just join! You’ll be fine!”

Brian Johnson: And then your personal story and your humility with the psychologist. And you're hilarious. And then the fact that you didn't need to get the surgery that you may have needed to get, and then your husband...You're 3 months in. I mean you just started in February. So for your husband to already say “Wow!” And “I want to join.”

And then playfully, you may have heard me say that sometimes spouses are like “What's going on?!” and it takes a little longer than the 3 months.

But for your transformation to be so fast that he would see it, your best friend's gonna go through it with him while your team comes online. I am just so blessed and grateful that you were able to share that. And i'm glad. I asked the question because I’m speechless with inspiration.

Ruth Rabdau: So, about the Ambassador program. I want to see my tally of heroes, but I definitely want to make sure that that money is going to a scholarship fund or something, and not coming to me.

Brian Johnson: You stop! You stop! We've gone too far past awesome.

So we will ensure that your prospective Ambassador commissions on the introductions to these wonderful individuals goes directly to the scholarships.

We're facilitating that to have a “Hey? If you want it to go there, then it goes there.” And a lot of people here right now are on scholarship. And, as you know, our commitment is “Money never gets in the way.”

So I really appreciate you for all the reasons. And again, just so inspired.

Ruth Rabdau: Yeah, well, thank you and your team for everything you're doing, I mean. I know you get this all the time, but you really are changing people's lives. You truly probably saved my life. I was just not paying attention. I am now.

I know you get this all the time, but you really are changing people's lives. You truly probably saved my life. I was just not paying attention. I am now.

Brian Johnson: Bless you! I wish I could reach through Zoom and give you a huge hog, and I look forward to the in person one. Where are you? Geographically, just so, so I can put a pin and look forward to the moment.

Ruth Rabdau: Well today I'm in Bremerton, Washington, but I'm, you know, between Seattle and Tacoma.

Brian Johnson: Inspiring, and it's interesting—and I won't name a name but—one of the larger health organizations around you, one of the medical directors of that organization is a Heroic Coach. We're talking about how we may be able to integrate this into the overall offering such that your doctor is able to say what Tom said.

Which is, “Hey, look! We've got this program that we've found.”

Again, the data we have is 40% more energized. Goosebumps.

You just put it in a concrete terms in terms of not needing to have a surgery. How do you quantify that?

The productivity that you're going to your next-level on, within constraints?

And then the connection that you clearly have with your husband at an even deeper level.

So we're really excited to get good at that. And the thing I was going to say was, imagine this time next year, and if not the year after that—all the asterisk on we gotta make it happen—but Heroic @ Work is a thing.

So the social platform that we're creating. We have already begun thinking about how we allow for a a group, in your team, your company where you can see and celebrate one another: Your Energy. Your Work. Your Love, Identities. Virtues. And Targets.

We actually have already done this internally with our team, and we're piloting it with different organizations and figuring out how to do it, where we can help you create organizational virtues.

So in your energy, what is your company committed to?

In your productivity, what virtues do you want to embody collectively?

And then, obviously, how you treat one another.

And then have an environment where you all are connecting with one another.