Fred Rogers proved that staying true to your values can create lasting impact—his story challenges entrepreneurs to build businesses with integrity, empathy, and a relentless focus on purpose.
In this episode, we step into the world of Fred Rogers, the gentle force behind Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Known to generations of children as simply Mr. Rogers, his influence reached far beyond television screens. What made him remarkable wasn’t wealth, scale, or corporate success, but his deeply driven purpose: to nurture kindness, honesty, and emotional wellbeing in every child he encountered.
Fred’s story begins in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he grew up in privilege but also isolation. Teased as “Fat Freddy,” he often retreated to his attic, creating puppet shows for himself and pouring his feelings into the piano. Yet it was through these early hardships that his empathy took root. The guidance of key “helpers”—his grandfather, who affirmed him with the words “I like you just the way you are,” and his grandmother, who gifted him a Steinway piano—set him on a trajectory of creativity and compassion that would define his life.
Though initially headed for ministry, Fred’s path shifted dramatically when he encountered television. Appalled by slapstick “pie-in-the-face” children’s programming, he envisioned something radically different: a medium that could respect children’s intelligence and emotions. With little experience but immense conviction, Fred began behind the scenes before being nudged in front of the camera. From there, he built Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood into a show that endured for over 30 years, blending music, puppetry, and candid conversations about life’s hardest subjects—anger, divorce, racism, even assassination. His gift was making the complex simple, and the frightening approachable.
Beyond the sweaters and songs, Fred’s work was anchored in principles. He refused to advertise to children, despite financial pressures, believing trust was too sacred to exploit. He valued silence, reflection, and presence, often inviting viewers to pause and think about those who had shaped their lives. In 1969, his authenticity famously won over Congress, securing $20 million in funding for public television in just seven minutes. His ability to look people in the eye, speak plainly, and lead with care was as powerful in Washington as it was in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
Fred Rogers’ legacy is a reminder that greatness doesn’t always come from building empires or disrupting industries. Sometimes it comes from consistent, unwavering devotion to values. His life challenges us to find the “magic” in our own work—what connects most deeply with others—and to do more of that while cutting away distractions. It encourages us to be helpers, to empower those around us, and to face challenges with honesty and courage.
As you listen, consider how Fred’s lessons—focus, empathy, integrity, and belief in others—might apply to your own entrepreneurial journey. Like Fred, we all have a neighborhood we can nurture.
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Fred Rogers Testifies Before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications
Past Episodes Mentioned
#2 Ed Thorp - A Man For All Markets - Absolute Thriller!
#3 Becoming Trader Joe | Business Masterclass from a Legend
Ask why he thought the neighborhood had stayed on the air so long. Fred attributed it to the fact that he was not actually concealing his secret self. People love honesty. He said they like to be in touch with those who are honest in real. Don't you like to be with real people? People who aren't afraid to make mistakes and people who just know that life is a gift and relish in it. When he gave his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Mr. Rogers made a request that was important to him.
He wanted his listeners to think about the people who would help them succeed.
Who are the people who have helped you become who you are today? He asked. Nobody gets to be a human adult without the investment of others. All along the way. I'd like to give you a minute in the middle of this meeting to think of those who have trusted you and guided you and loved you into [00:01:00] being a minute of grateful silence in the spirit of Mr.
Rogers. I'll watch the time,
[00:02:00] Whomever you've been thinking about, whether they're here today or far away or even in heaven, imagine how grateful they would be to know how you feel about them here and now.
these selections and the words of Fred Rogers are from the book that I just finished reading and would like to talk to you today about, it's called Kindness and Wonder, why Mr. Rogers Matters Now more than ever. And it was written by Gavin Edwards.
This was the third time that I read this book, and it's a quick and powerful read, I like it because it's packed with so many insights on Fred's life and offers a lot of valuable lessons that I think we can extract in use and business.
It was during the early days of COVID when I was at home and I decided to watch a movie called, it's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and this is [00:03:00] the one where Tom Hanks plays Mr. Rogers. It really opened my eyes about his work and his life , and how he was as a human. And here's why.
I've always had a deep admiration for those who have discovered their purpose in life. Followed that passion without regard to what others said or what society told them to do. Those who took big risk, but from their view, they weren't really risk. They were simply just taking a natural progress towards following their life's purpose.
They were enjoying life, treating it as work, taking the cards that they had been dealt, and just playing them perfectly in their lives.
When I first started thinking about this podcast, Fred Rogers was one of those individuals that I often thought about. And if I had to put words to that inner purpose that propelled him forward, how would that translate into something that could be grasp to capture the impact in [00:04:00] the meeting?
For me, that was deeply driven. I also thought about other great entrepreneurs that I've studied, like Henry Ford, Harry Schneider, who started In-N-Out Burger, ed Thorpe, Joe Klo at Trader Joe's, Ray Crock, and some of the best basketball players. Those that I admired and watched growing up like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant,
all of these individuals had a deeply driven purpose and a passion that they followed, which felt like the correct way to describe those that you and I talk about here on this podcast. As deeply driven. Now, Fred, he didn't build a large company that employed thousands, nor would he do billions of dollars in sales each year, but he did run a small nonprofit called Family Communications Inc.
This primarily allowed him to raise money to produce his children's television show, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. It also helped him protect his assets such as [00:05:00] images and music that he created. This company still exists today under the name the Fred Rogers Company. 25 years after his death, they're still producing high quality content under the guiding principles
That Fred set forth that of emotional wellbeing, kindness, gratitude, personal growth, empathy, understanding, respect for others, love and forgiveness, just to name a few. But for Fred, while he was alive, it allowed him to stay on the air for five decades. And I don't think you get to do that if you're not deeply driven.
A wonderful feat of long-term endurance to deliver high quality to children's programming, touching the lives of millions of boys and girls all over the globe. Today I'd like to look at his life and the important lessons that we can learn from Fred and how they apply to our business and also to our personal lives.
. If you'd like to pick up [00:06:00] a copy of the book, I'll leave a link in the show notes for you.
I just wanted to mention that I've recently set up an Amazon affiliate account, and what I'm gonna do here is with this particular account for any of the commission that's earned through the purchase of books, I'm gonna donate 100% of those funds to help support children's literacy. And this is gonna be from now through the life of the podcast.
So no matter how much is earned, regardless of the book, whatever comes in from that affiliate account, I'm gonna donate a hundred percent towards children's literacy. I believe that is insanely critical for our children, and it's one of the simplest things that we can do is to read to children. It's simple and it's deep and it's high impact.
And I'll certainly report back in the future to let you know how things are going. Also, on the list, you'll find all the other great books that we've talked about here on the podcast. As we move [00:07:00] forward, I'll add new books to the list so that you always have one convenient spot to check out and pick up all those books.
And If you do purchase any books from that list, I do thank you in advance.
If you find some value today in the episode, maybe you would just consider leaving me some feedback on your favorite listening platform.
That would help me out a great deal. And for those that have already left some feedback. I greatly, greatly thank you for doing so. That really motivates me. It gives me fuel to keep moving forward here and making quality episodes for you guys. It really is my goal to produce high quality episodes with lessons that are useful and meaningful.
With that, let's hop into our time machine and we'll head back to March 20th, 1928.
Fred McFeely Rogers. He was born in la, Pennsylvania to Jim and Nancy Rogers. In the book it says that Jim was the [00:08:00] president of a die cast company at the time Fred was born and his mother. She was heavily involved in philanthropic efforts, primarily helping families in need by rounding of volunteers to help at the Latrobe Hospital.
Now growing up, Fred's gonna see his mother's endless acts of kindness and service, and I really think that phrase more is caught than taught, applies right here Fred constantly saw his mother in action helping others, and it's gonna serve him very well later in life.
One thing that his mother always said when he was growing up is the following. Always look for the helpers. There will always be helpers just on the sidelines. And as Fred's growing up, there would be many helpers in his life. They're gonna be the molars of Fred's life
as he would eventually transform himself into a helper of the utmost importance. But it took a lot of discovery along the way. For [00:09:00] Fred, he's gonna grow up in a prominent section of the city called The Hill, and he lived in a three story mansion that was just a few houses down from his grandparents. Now, as Fred is growing up, he is the only child until the age of 11 when his parents adopted his sister Laney.
As he was growing up, he often felt anxious about the world around him. He would spend a lot of time in the attic playing with his puppets. They had refurbished the attic to have a playroom, and it also had a puppet theater stage. And Fred really loved putting on shows, but he was mostly putting on shows for an audience of one, which was himself.
I really like to think of this as early training or practice, if you will. He was perfecting his craft, as we're gonna see later on in the episode. If we take a look at his schooling, he was relentlessly teased and tormented, and later in life he would reflect back how [00:10:00] this really made him feel powerless.
And it really was disorienting for his life. He was a rich kid. He had a chauffeur that would drop him off at school and would pick him up each day. in the book it says that he was pale, asthmatic, chubby. He had a squeaky voice, he was clumsy, quite shy and rich.
Most of the kids would resort to calling him Fat Freddy, what are you doing? Fat Freddy. Where you going? Fat Freddy. . Come back here. Fat Freddy. We want to talk to you. Fat Freddy. Go away. Fat Freddy. It was just relentless, on and on and on, and it was very painful for him growing up as I could only imagine.
And he would never forget this level of isolation and the torment that he felt at the hands of others. Now, thankfully, Fred had some supportive family members, and these are the first helpers that show up in his life.
One Saturday afternoon, he was at his grandparents' house and he asked if he could [00:11:00] go outside and climb on the stone walls that surrounded the property, he was instantly met with a big no from his mother and his grandmother,
but not so fast. Let's see what happens next in the book. His grandfather's voice, boom through the drawing room. Now hold on just a minute. Grandfather McFeely said so the boy wants to go outside and climb the walls to let the boy go climb the walls. He asked to learn to do things for himself. Fred went outside before anybody could change their mind.
Smart move Fred. For the next two and a half hours, I climbed those old walls skinned by knee, tore my pants, and had the time of my life. He said. That really reminds me right there of when I was a kid and I got my first bike, , that feeling of freedom, being able to ride anywhere and explore on my own, it was and still is a very powerful feeling for me, and it probably explains why I love biking so much.
It was that first [00:12:00] taste of independence and adventure, I can really feel that, Fred, he's experiencing that same independence right here, and some important things are about to happen in Fred's life. Let's keep going here. When he was done, he found his grandfather and told him all about the glorious life-threatening adventures.
Grandfather McFeely had something important to say to his grandson, Fred, you made this day a special day just by being yourself. Always remember there's just one person in this whole world like you and I like you just the way you are. A valuable message for any child to hear, but exactly the words of unconditional love and approval that an anxious 8-year-old Fred needed to hear.
Right here we see a few important events take place. The first is that Fred is supported unconditionally. He's loved by his grandfather at a critical time in his life. These [00:13:00] words, you made this a special day just by being yourself, and I like you just the way you are. I believe these not only gave Fred confidence as an 8-year-old, but they seep into his subconscious and these words would be very popular much later in life as he follows his passion in educating children.
At the same time another talent was developing for Fred, he was already a very gifted piano player. As a youth, he had the ability to play by ear and in his household, he wasn't really allowed to express his feelings. So what he learned to do is express them through his fingertips.
Fred would say the following, I was always able to cry or laugh or say I was angry through the tips of my fingers on the piano. I would go to the piano even when I was five years old and start to play how I felt. Right here we see another helper [00:14:00] enter Fred's life in that of his grandmother. And I really like this next story.
I'm gonna paraphrase a few sections from the book. I think it helps add context to the isolation that Fred had as a rich kid, but also illustrates that the things he cherished and loved are gonna remain with him forever.
When Fred was 10. He told Nana how much he longed for a piano of his own Fred, who didn't typically weedle her for expensive gifts. Earnestly explained that to grow as a pianist, he needed a better instrument. And at that time, he was playing on a $25, um, pump organ that his parents had bought him.
Nana Indulgent told him that if he picked out a piano, she would pay for it. Figuring it couldn't cost that much. Nana gave him directions to the Steinway and Sun's showroom, and he rolled the trolley four miles for hours. He worked his way through the store playing every piano they had [00:15:00] available before deciding which one he liked best.
A Steinway concert, grand Model DA a half ton top of the line model that might be found in concert halls. Fred had a good ear made in 1920. It was an extraordinary condition. Having recently received an heirloom renovation in New York, Fred solemnly announced that he wanted to buy the grand piano and the salesman quietly snickered.
It cost almost $3,000, about $70,000 today. Nana kept her promise and Fred soon returned to the Steinway showroom, armed with a check for the full cost of a piano. He kept that piano for the rest of his life. . It set his life on a trajectory through the world of music and the arts, and he used it to compose hundreds of songs, including his most famous tunes as an adult.
Still grateful for the gift from Nana that changed his life.
Fred said. Simply, [00:16:00] there's something very mystical and wonderful about how music can touch us. It's elemental. Fred still felt like a misfit, but he was quietly turning into an overachiever.
We can see that this generous gift, one that he keeps for the rest of his life would be foundational for him, and it demonstrates his deep commitment to the things that he loves most in life, which is admirable. I believe now, as Fred continues with the school, he continues to be picked on and he develops even deeper feelings of resentments towards the kids that are picking on him
and not wanting to see past his physical characteristics. The kids were so cruel towards him. As Fred enters high school, he would invest in a Charles Atlas bodybuilding course, and he was determined that he could make some changes to his physical appearance, and he would follow the program religiously every single day.
While he never looked like a [00:17:00] bodybuilder, he would develop a lifelong approach towards physical fitness, specifically around swimming. In the book it says that he normally swam about a half a mile each morning for most of his life as it made him felt refreshed and renewed and ready to take on a new day.
Now, during high school, instead of being isolated and lonely, Fred's gonna take a different approach he's gonna bring forward acts of kindness and generosity. He's really gonna take the high road here
This is gonna lead him to the next helper in his life. One of the most popular kids in school at that time, his name was Jim Stambaugh. He was the star of the track and the basketball and the football teams. And one day he had suffered a football injury that would land him in the hospital.
, Fred's mother, she knew Jim's mom and she would arrange for Fred to bring all of his schoolwork to the hospital. At first these boys, they don't really say a whole lot. They're from different worlds. But Fred, through his [00:18:00] kindness, eventually would win the friendship of Jim.
And once Jim was back in school, he's gonna vouch for Fred saying,
, You know, he's okay. He is cool to hang out with.
that would make all the world of difference for Fred. And from this point, he's gonna be off to the races. I think this is a really prime lesson right here for you and I in two ways.
The first is when we're able to connect with an influencer in life or in business, or someone who's respected, well known, or they have expertise in their field. This can really result in massive leverage . And I think it really comes down to emotional intelligence. That of being self-aware to control your emotions,
having self-regulation, to control impulsive feelings, being motivated with a positive attitude, and at the same time having empathy and recognizing the emotions of others, and then acting accordingly. For Fred at a very young age, he exhibited [00:19:00] all of these elements and he was able to gain the trust of Jim, and it really reminds me of another great depression era entrepreneur that we spoke about on episode two.
In that of Ed Thorpe, he demonstrated a really high degree of emotional intelligence through sharing knowledge, his rational risk taking, and not letting his ego get in the way and treating others with fairness and kindness. What's really paid off for him in business.
Then if we flip the coin and we just look at Jim's point of view, this is point number two. And probably Jim, he didn't really even realize what he was doing here. But in business, we should be on the lookout for situations where we can mentor others, especially those who demonstrate a really high degree of focus or drive those that are really hungry to learn.
We see a really good example of this in Joe Kalo who started Trader Joe's. He was deeply hands-on with this team, regularly sharing [00:20:00] ideas and corporate direction, taking employees out to lunch and meeting with them on a regular basis, gathering feedback, and just pouring information into them.
This focus on his employees made them more engaged in the business and it really gave them opportunities to grow as professionals. I believe it's just a super valuable lesson, my friend, to look at those that can help us in life and business, and to also keep our eyes open for those that we can help.
The dividends are massive, both directions. Now for Fred, he's quite ambitious and he's very determined. He's gonna start writing for the school newspaper. He would be the editor of the yearbook president on the student council. He ends up taking flying lessons and he would also carry a girlfriend who when asked later in life would say the following.
. He was a very determined person. Whatever he decided to do, got done
Fred [00:21:00] would be voted most likely to succeed by his graduating high school class as he prepares for his freshman year heading off to Dartmouth.
You know, while I was out running this morning, I was thinking about the magic of podcasting and how it helps to deliver a different perspective on the books that you and I read. For example, when we talk about the concept of helpers, those people that run into the storm, the help we can see in the course of just what, five or 10 minutes here, that there were three key helpers in Fred's life and his grandfather by letting him explore on the farm, his grandmother with the piano, and then just right now his classmate, Jim, who changed his high school world.
In the book, this takes place over like 30 pages. And in between these concepts, you know, there's all these words and we might draw a different conclusion or see different aspects, which is perfectly fine because you're always gonna have a [00:22:00] different perspective based upon what might be going on in your personal life.
But in this really short period of time right here, you and I can extract these central figures from the book that are helpers in Fred's life. These are the ones that would mold and shape him, and we really learn some quick hitting valuable lessons to look for those helpers in life.
At the same time, we see how much of an impact that we can have when we are in the position of a helper. That's why I love really creating and listening to podcasts, especially those that are centered around books. It helps me gain a different perspective and it allows me to build deeper connections, which I can draw from later in life.
I believe that's the magic of podcasting, at least from my view.
Alright, let's hop back to Fred here and see what's going on.
So Fred's gonna enthusiastically head off to Dartmouth. once he arrived, he got there he's gonna find out that it's not really a match for [00:23:00] him. It was an all male school and it was heavily dominated with lots of alcohol and he didn't really feel that he was getting the best education there.
He would run into a music teacher who would advise him that maybe he would wanna visit Rollins College that was located in Winter Park, Florida. That's where the teacher had recently come from. And they had an excellent music program. So Fred, he would arrange for a visit. When he arrived, he found it really warm and welcoming.
All of the students there embraced him and they showed him around and they were excited to have him there. So he would apply and be accepted and he would transfer to Rollins College. Upon his arrival, he would meet a young woman by the name of Joanne Bird, who he would begin spending a lot of time with.
It says in the book that they were both quite shy individuals, but most people would generally consider them a couple while they were together in college. [00:24:00] Joanne, she has some really insightful words here about Fred. And I think these demonstrate the struggle that he has to figure out his purpose in life.
This illustrates that point. You know, that we have a general idea about something that we might want to do, but we're not quite sure how we should go about to try to accomplish it. And let me just read for you here.
Fred had a strong interest in young children and their education. He had spent so much of his childhood feeling isolated and fearful. He had never forgotten how that felt. That gave him an immediate rapport with children who could tell that he took their problem seriously. Fred already knew he wanted to help children, although he wasn't sure of the best way to do it.
He frequently visited nursery schools to watch teachers at work with their young children. Joanne thought that one day he might end up running an orphanage,
you and I, we get a nice [00:25:00] perspective to see his purpose developing and building. As he's nearing graduation of college, he had decided that he wanted to study to become a Presbyterian minister. So he had applied and been accepted to Western Theological Seminary.
But little does he know his plans are about to change. He would go home to visit his parents on Easter break of his senior year, and once he arrives there, he discovers that the family has purchased a television set. So Fred, he's naturally curious and he didn't really care about popular shows, but he really wanted to see what was available for kids
What he finds is simply appalling. Let me read from the book for you here.
He turned on the set in the afternoon, curious to see what kind of programming it offered for children, what he witnessed, horrified him. People were dressed in some kind of costumes and they literally were putting pies in each other's faces. Fred [00:26:00] said, I didn't regard this as slapstick, comedy, fun, if a bit messy in his eyes, it de debates the whole medium.
This is a wonderful tool for education. Why is it being used this way? Fred objected. His parents had just come to terms with his desire to become a minister. Now he informed him that he had a new plan. I don't think I'll go to seminary right away. He told them, I think maybe I'll go into television, but you've never seen it.
They said, stunned. The gadget in the music room had upended their son's life. Well, I've seen enough of it. Fred said, I'd like to try. While this may have looked like nameless 23-year-old, flailing around uncertain what to do with his life, it was actually Fred Rogers' first act of genius. He saw a staticky broadcast that he found appalling, and he had the vision and the stubbornness to say that he could use the [00:27:00] medium to create something far superior.
I think it's safe to say that Fred just discovered his purpose in life. That small 10 inch black and white TV would change his entire life. Imagine if he never saw it and he went to seminary. Possibly. He takes his life's work in a completely different direction. And I think knowing Fred up to this point, I believe that he still would've done great things to help others in their lives.
But it's possible that millions upon millions of folks may have never known him. . I really believe it was a divine event that redirected Fred towards the medium of television. He was wise enough with a high degree of self-awareness and brilliant insights to follow his developing passions.
It reminds me of Elon Musk when he discovered that NASA had no plans of sending humans to Mars. He couldn't believe [00:28:00] that it was true, and that set him on a completely different trajectory in his life, developing SpaceX. It's these flashes of divine perfection that are absolutely fascinating. And the author says that it was his first act of genius this is gonna lead him to a career of more than 50 years in television.
So you might ask with no television experience, what would Fred do? That is a great question.
What he did is he immediately applied for jobs at the three TV stations in New York, A, B-C-C-B-S, and NBC. And then with the help of his father who had some connections at NBC, he was able to gain an entry-level job as an assistant to one of the directors. Now, this is 1951 and most of the crew at NBC, they didn't have a lot of experience and it was said in the book that they were just basically making things up as they went along.
They were [00:29:00] building the airplane as they were flying, if you will, Freddy stood out very quickly. He was a soft-spoken young man, but he wasn't timid and he excelled at everything that he was asked to do. He worked long days and he learned very rapidly
They quickly discover that he has superior piano playing skills, which they would put to use in various musical programming that they had on the air. Things are going really well for Fred.
But he soon hears some news from his parents, and he's gonna make another bold move in life.
After graduating and leaving Florida, Fred and Joanne, they had stopped seeing each other. While his parents were in Florida vacationing, Joanne had paid them a social visit and she brought along a new boyfriend word quickly got back to Fred. So he would write her a letter proposing marriage, and of course she would answer and say yes.
She would eventually move to New York [00:30:00] and the couple would be married on July 9th, 1952, and they would remain married for 51 years until they departed in death. Now if we flash back to the NBC studio here, we're gonna see Fred is promoted to a floor manager and in this position, he would keep the action moving on several variety programs, he was learning his craft at the ground level.
All the mechanics of how the television programs were made,
interacting with the writers and the cameramen and the onscreen talent. One of which, who was Gabby Hayes. He was a western movie star that appeared as John Wayne's sidekick in quite a few movies.
And one day, Mr. Hayes was in the studio filming a show that would introduce kids to westerns. And they had a break one day and Fred would ask him a critical question. This is one of those answers that just stays with you for life. I think it's a real true [00:31:00] example that we can learn a lot from a wise person in a very short period of time.
Fred's gonna ask the following.
He asked the show's star, Mr. Hayes, what do you think of when you look at the camera and know there are thousands of people watching you? Hayes extended an index finger with a twang. Freddy, I think of one little buckaroo. At that time, Fred had no thoughts of ever hosting his own program, but when he did, he remembered and embraced Hayes's philosophy.
When I look at the camera, I think of one person, not any specific person, it's a very, very personal medium. Fred said that's one of the reasons that I thought for education, it would be so fabulous because if you have someone on television, it looks like that person is looking directly at each person individually.
A live teacher can't do that. Fred was well aware that teacher [00:32:00] standing in front of the classroom had other virtues, but he was fascinated by how television was an intimate mass medium. Fred's genius, I believe, is just off the charts if you ask me. I feel like this advice is validation for him, that he's on the right path
similar to like when Henry Ford asked Thomas Edison what he thought about his gasoline engine in the electric man. Mr. Edison would say the following, there is a big future for any lightweight engine that can develop a high horsepower and be self-contained. No one kind of mode of power is ever gonna do all the work of the country.
We do not know what electricity can do, but I take it for granted that it can't do everything. Keep on your engine if you get what you're after. I can see a great future for Mr. Rogers and Mr. Ford. These events are just [00:33:00] massive fuel to their internal purpose and fire that's burning deep and it propels both of them forward.
For Fred, the space between the speaker and the listener, this is sacred space and he's gonna work on his craft to distill the most complex messages down into the most concise words that are gonna touch the lives of millions of children. He still has many steps to take in front of him right here, but he's putting up the guide rails and he's solidifying his thinking.
Another big change is on the way for Fred. In 1953, he's gonna receive a call from his father who would inform him that in Pittsburgh, WQED would be going on the air in this channel. It was a community sponsored public station. Fred, he's excited, so wequickly applies. He sees his vision here now as coworkers.
[00:34:00] They're gonna give him a lot of grief saying that he was in line to be a producer or director, and that he could really go and make a lot of money and be successful in television. And the public TV wasn't gonna do anything for him. He would never make any money there, or they weren't even on the air.
They don't know what they're doing and he would never be successful. But Fred, he has the foresight and he's gonna say the following,
no, I have the feeling that educational television might be, at least for me, the wave of the future. Fred had enjoyed his time at NBC, but he felt that it was time to move on. I didn't feel that I could use all the talents that had been given to me as a floor manager.
Again, I'm just impressed that Fred's able to recognize his talents. He doesn't let popular opinion hold him back, and he makes a bold move to a new station with zero programming. I guess it's kind of like Jeff Bezos, if you will, leaving that [00:35:00] high paying job in New York, moving his wife to Seattle to start an online bookstore when this was not even a thing.
He knew the power of the internet and he could foresee the future that was coming. Fred, he's in the same category right here. Once he arrived at WQED, Fred is gonna meet a young woman by the name of Josephine Bakari and she was also interested in performing a children's show they both shared similar views and they became fast friends.
So they would develop a show for children and they're gonna pitch their idea to the station director, who would quickly agree to a show that they would call the Children's Corner.
on the show, Josephine, she's gonna be called Josie Carey. That made it easier for kids to remember her name. And she would be the star of the show. And then Fred would be responsible for doing the production, the writing, and all of the music. The show's gonna debut on [00:36:00] April 1st, 1954. And they would have a really cheaply constructed set.
It says in the book that many things just came from the goodwill, or they were donated They would see Josie just acting against a cloth backdrop that they had put up. Then on that backdrop, they had painted images for children, such as a globe and a mailbox and a grandfather clock. And then they would add other drawings and stuff to it later on in the future. They also had a really popular attic segment where all the furniture in the household items would come to life.
it was called, it's a small world. Yes, it's a small world. They use that name 10 years before Disney would ever use it.
Now, one of the things that would make the show so popular would be the puppets. What they did is they had cut a slit in the backdrop and then they would pop out their puppets. The first puppet that ever appeared on the show was that of Daniel Striped Tiger, and he would be voice acted [00:37:00] by Fred then Josie and the puppet would interact in dialogue, and this is gonna be a hidden magical gem for them.
This is one that they never counted on. The relationship between Josie and the puppet was very real the viewers. They could feel that this was a genuine connection and this really allowed them to build trust between the speaker and the listener. Those early years of Fred in the attic putting on puppet shows for himself, they start paying dividends really fast here.
From my view, he was just pulling long learned skills out of the toolbox, if you will,
I just wanted to paraphrase a few selections from the book so that you can get a feel of how this connection was. Also,
Josie would talk to Daniel as if that was the only person in the room. Fred said it was just magical the way they would converse. He particularly remembered one day when Josie wasn't her cheery effervescent [00:38:00] self. I'm so upset. She told Daniel Stripe a tiger. Well, you just tell me about it.
Daniel replied, and she just buried her soul to him. This was so real. Fred said decades later, still odd. I wonder if she knew we were on the air the camera was on. She probably did, but she trusted Daniel's ears, so she trusted her audience so that she could be her whole self. Sometimes Josie would become so absorbed in her conversation with Daniel that after the show she would start recounting to Fred telling him the wonderful things that Daniel had said.
Quite forgetting that Fred had actually been the one to say them.
We can see the bonds of trust right there. You can almost feel them coming through the words. This was really sacred to Fred. It was his absolute top priority to be truthful, especially in the eyes [00:39:00] of children. they're gonna soon add additional puppets to the show. They had Grand Pierre who came from France in a box marked third class male, and would be used to teach kids French from the Eiffel Tower that they painted on the backdrop.
And others like Henrietta Pussycat and Xie Al, who was friends with Benjamin Franklin. For me right there, he gets my vote, his favorite. They would also introduce Lady Elaine Fairchild, the loud mouth truth teller. And then King Friday the 13th, whose birthday was on Friday the 13th. And that was intentional to help counteract superstitions each time the show aired on Friday the 13th, they would have a Royal Birthday party for the King.
which I think is quite awesome. If I just step back here and I look at this from a business perspective, you might say, [00:40:00] what in the world can a kid show teach me about business? Good question.
TV was new at the time, so they were creating and figuring out what worked and what didn't work. In a direct quote, Fred would say, the followingyou learned by doing
Short and sweet. I love those words.
When they discovered something magical, they did the logical, they did more of it. And it's the same for you. And I. Look for the things you do in your business. What works best? Can you expand upon that? For Fred and Josie, they had a 20 minute segments where kids would sing songs and bang on pots and pans, and it was used to fill space, but it wasn't magical for the audience at home.
And guess what? They cut that part out. Same for us. What's not working in our business? If you have a large operation, perhaps create a stop list. Encourage employees to add [00:41:00] suggestions to the list and make evaluations. Possibly eliminate legacy systems, cut off products that should have died a long time ago.
Or maybe you just need to refine your systems a little bit to make things more efficient. You and I, we should be looking for the magic in our business and do more of that. I tried to do that with the podcast, reading through high quality books like this one, pouring over my notes and highlights, thinking about the various ways I can pull lessons from deeply driven individuals and tie them into meaningful actions and thoughts for you and I.
When we have different viewpoints in life, it changes our thought patterns, giving us a path forward. It only takes an idea or concept to bring you to new heights. Now, speaking of New Heights, the Children's Corner, it's gonna be a hit in addition to the puppets, they're gonna host various guests like zookeepers, poets, local celebrities, [00:42:00] a wide range of musicians, and a young comedian by the name of Johnny Carson.
and popular cartoonist, Charles Schultz, And perhaps its most famous onscreen future personality that of Mr. Fred Rogers. Fred was quite reluctant in appearing in front of the camera, but it was for the kids so he would dissent from the ceiling via wires, and he'd be dressed in a tuxedo with a black velvet crown playing the part of Prince Charming.
And this skit would become quite popular with all of the kids. That kind of marked his first time that he was in front of the camera, not hosting, but just playing a skit. This popularity for the show is gonna be backed up by more than 750 letters a day from children. The other shows at the station, well, they got zero letters.
As the popularity of the show spread, they're gonna soon land a four week [00:43:00] contract with NBC to produce the children's corner for a 30 minute show on Saturday morning. And to measure that success.138,000 letters. Holy smokes. I can't even imagine how much space that mail would take up. They would extend the contract, I believe it was for another 13 episodes, but their time at NBC is gonna be short.
A few months later, they would just return to WQED in Pittsburgh and make shows from there. It would be around this time in 1956 that Fred decides to take another major step in his life and he starts attending seminary on a part-time basis, just taking one class at a time. And what this does for him is it deepens his commitment towards educating children.
There's some really fantastic ways his thinking evolves here, and I just wanted to share a few of them with you.
The first is, the only thing that evil cannot stand is [00:44:00] forgiveness. It simply disintegrates in the presence of forgiveness. I think that is extremely valuable. The next thing is attitudes aren't taught. They're caught. And I agree and we spoke about that early in the episode. When Fred witnessed his mother doing so much work to help others.
He caught her actions as a youth and these played into his adulthood. And
in the next thinking that I like here that's illustrated in the book, it says Fred's perspective. The moral of the story was that teaching like most good things in the world is built on honesty and enthusiasm.
And for Fred, he really begins to focus deeper, tuning out those outside distractions so that he could focus deeply on his education and his television show. In the book it says he took the radio out of his car. Most [00:45:00] people have a radio put in. Fred had his taken out. He watched television just once a week and then only for a few minutes.
I think that's brilliant. What distracts you in your life? How much extra work could you get done if you gave up the social media or you hired someone to take care of those lower priority items for you to get those to do things off of your list? Fred's driving back and forth between the studio and seminary each day, and for him this is really valuable time for thinking and for reflection, and he eliminates these possible distractions. Brilliant. If you ask me now, as Fred enters his final year of seminary at this point, he's been on the air for seven years and he decides that it is time to end the children's corner so that he could really focus on finishing his schooling.
He would graduate from seminary in 1962 and a year later he is gonna be ordained in [00:46:00] June of 63. As a minister in the book, Fred's gonna say the following about being ordained as a minister. I was ordained by the Pittsburgh presbytery to work with families through the mass media. It's the only ordination I know of, of that kind, Fred said.
Because the program was already established, they knew that this was a decent pulpit. They knew I wasn't overly religious in what I was doing, but I think they believed that the Holy Spirit was operative in the work and that's what matters the most.
Through his training, he had become even more focused on developing high quality educational programming for kids, and he's gonna soon head to Canada. This was to produce what he thought was gonna be a 15 minute daily show. so he would move to Toronto with Joanne and their two young kids.
After they got settled, he believed that the network was gonna hire a star for the show and [00:47:00] he would just work behind the scenes in his normal producer capacity. Very much the same way in which the children's corner was on the air. But things are about to change. For Fred, the station manager, he had different ideas in three key magical things happen right here.
Let me just read for you and then we'll talk about it.
I've seen you talk to kids, Fred, and I wanna translate that to television. Fred was reluctant but eventually Rasberry, uh, that's his boss, persuaded him that he would be the best representative of his own point of view. Rasberry instructed him. I want you to look into the lens and just pretend that's a child.
So Fred did just that. Rasberry gave
the show, which debuted on CBC in late 1962. The awkward title of Mr. Rogers at age 34. Fred became Mr. [00:48:00] Rogers.
So first up, Fred's boss pushes him out of his comfort zone, believing in him, giving him confidence that he can talk to kids better than anyone. This is a great lesson for us, and that when we believe in our employees and we support them, they can do amazing things. Now, on the flip side, 0.2 here, Fred, he's reluctant, but he accepts the challenge.
He follows his boss's advice and he went in front of the camera. He didn't pretend to be someone else. He used his training up to this point and he treated the camera like a child. He would soon adapt to the camera and quickly became no big deal for him with all the other duties that he was undertaking on the show.
Then the third point we see here, we see the name of Mr. Rogers on the air. For the first time it had taken Fred 10 years since he entered television to [00:49:00] finally have his name on the program. And I don't believe that that was ever his goal anyways, but Life presented him with a set of cards and Fred played the cards it put him into a position where he had a very strong hand and he didn't back down. He went forward full force.
and it would be in this show where we see Mr. Rogers, who would change out of his suit jacket and put on that famous zip up sweater for the first time. This is a ritual that would carry on for more than 40 years. This particular action represented Mr. Rogers as a mature adult, not as a child or as a clown, but as a relaxed and understanding grownup.
Someone who was friendly and warm
for the show. Canadian scene artists would develop the neighborhood of make believe for all of Fred's familiar puppets, which is another aspect that's gonna remain part of the [00:50:00] show for the next 40 years as well.
Then on camera, we see Fred's true personality. He's gonna tell children that were watching, that they were special and that he liked them just the way they were.
With all of his hard work and his dedication, the show is gonna be a really big success in Canada. For him and his family, they were really happy in Toronto. But after a year and a half, they realized that their visas are about to expire. And they had a couple of choices here. They could apply for Canadian citizenship or they could go back to the United States.
So after a lot of debate, they really decided that they wanted to raise their two young boys in the United States. So in 1964, they would head back to Pittsburgh with no job and no major plans. However, Fred's gonna soon get a call with a proposal from a local department store who would fund his show.
And this was excellent news, but there was a problem. Fred [00:51:00] was adamantly opposed to ads and he would say the following, Disapprove of host of children's programming, pitching, anything he explained because they're to be trusted by the children and they're not. To use that to be hucksters. Amazingly. Horns, uh, that was in the department store, agreed to his terms. They would pay for the show with just a brief message at the beginning and end
of each 15 minute program touting their sponsorship. for the department store, they would get a lot of positive reviews by not having ads run during the middle of the show, but after 13 episodes. They would decide to stop funding the show.
There was really a lot of pressure on Fred to use the show and his puppets for advertising. Yet he sticks to his principles, and this is one of the reasons that I admire Fred. He held strong for the duration [00:52:00] of his career, not allowing ads during his show. I'm sure that Fred and his company could have personally made millions upon millions of dollars if they would've pitched products to kids.
But he took the path less traveled. He stuck to his beliefs and he forged forward,
and that's gonna lead him back to WQED at the station. They had scraped together just enough money for 100 episodes and in 1965, Mr. Rogers neighborhood, This is the one that you and I are probably most familiar with. It would debut in Pittsburgh every weekday at four 30 for half an hour, The show would become quite popular
and by early 67, they're gonna be on the air in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, LA, and Miami. It says in the book, the structure of the show, [00:53:00] simple and deep as described by friend in the opening reality of the show. We deal with the stuff that dreams are made up in the neighborhood of Make Believe.
We deal with it as if it were a dream. And when it comes back to me, we deal with this simple interpretation of the dream. So he would introduce the idea, discuss the idea, recap the idea. Super simple. I think it's a formula that we can all use in life, in business. Introduce the idea, discuss the idea, recap the idea.
Simple, effective. I like it a lot now as they're nearing the end of their hundredth episode. They again need to raise money. So Fred, he's gonna visit cities where they were on the air, and when he goes to Boston, they were expecting maybe a couple of hundred kids to show up. But instead they got over 6,000 kids.
And it says that they had a line more than half a mile long, waiting to [00:54:00] see Mr. Rogers. They would go to Chicago and guess what? Same thing, just as many in the reports, they're gonna hit the news of how popular Mr. Rogers is with the kids. And this would get the attention of a gentleman by the name of Bill McCurdy.
And he was the president of the Sears Roebuck Foundation and he was looking to underwrite programming So they would work out an agreement with National Education, television, or net, who is gonna become PBS not long thereafter. This is the one that we are familiar with today.
as part of this agreement, they would underwrite this show with a grant of $150,000
This would allow them to launch nationwide starting February 19th, 1968. And the show's gonna quickly become very popular with all of the kids. Fred on the show. He covers a wide range of topics, and this covers a lot of [00:55:00] ground in the book. And I thought what I would do is just run down a summary of those topics.
I just wanted you to get a feel for the things that Fred took head on. He didn't back down from anything. Then after I run down the list, I just wanted to talk about one episode in particular that I found quite moving.
So in summary here, they would deal with feelings and emotions such as anger, sadness, fear, jealousy, and joy. Teaching children how to manage their emotions. They would deal with conflict resolution with episodes on things like war, peace and disagreements.
they would deal with death and grief. On one episode, Fred even had a little funeral for a goldfish that had died in the tank. They did episodes on family dynamics such as divorce.
helping
children cope with family changes episodes on body awareness with a popular song. Everybody's fancy, and [00:56:00] this taught children to appreciate their bodies and to understand the differences between boys and girls.
They focused a lot of shows on learning and curiosity with topics like going to school and science, how things were made. And they often took field trips to the bakery or to a barber shop, or to manufacturing facilities to see how crayons or toys were made.
Fred did episodes on inclusion and diversity, introducing children to people with disabilities, people from different cultures and different professions, really promoting acceptance and understanding.
They had episodes on safety and practical skills dealing with things such as fire or visiting a doctor.
Before it was even popular, they did episodes on environmental awareness, focusing on nature and conservation, and caring for the environment.
They did several shows on superheroes in reality, being able [00:57:00] to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Fred, he grew especially concerned when he learned that a young boy had died because he thought he could fly like Superman after he had jumped off of his house.
And then a lot of shows on music and arts. Fred really loved music and he showcased a wide range of musical performers. He also took the kids to the opera then rounding out the list here, community and helpers. he highlighted the importance of helpers in society such as firefighters, doctors, teachers, and they had a regular policeman that was on the show as well
with this wide range of themes,
they were aimed to help children understand the world around them, to navigate their emotions and their challenges. Now, there's one particular episode that I wanted to discuss with you that's highlighted in the book. This episode was shortly after the assassination of Robert F. [00:58:00] Kennedy. Fred. He is concerned that no one's thinking about the nation's children and what they might think. instead of running away from the situation, which would've been easy to do, simply by just saying, look, we're a kid, show. We're not gonna deal with that sort of thing here.
Instead, he puts on his helper mentality and he runs directly into the storm in only the special way that Fred can do. I, this episode, he would open the show talking to parents about how they can talk to their kids about how to deal with strong emotions during difficult times. If we move over to the land of make believe, Fred, he's gonna talk to children through his magical way.
And I'm just gonna read here for a bit so you can get a feel of how it was. As I'm reading, just imagine that you're in Fred's shoes.
What hard situations are you facing in your life or your business? [00:59:00] Are you hiding from them or are you facing them head on?
In the neighborhood of Make Believe, where Lady Aberly assures X the owl, that, when he has angry thoughts, they don't hurt anybody. Only actions do. That man didn't shoot the other man just by thinking about it. She tells him. Lady Aberly then goes to visit Daniel Stripe at Tiger. They play peekaboo and then he gives her a balloon. He asks her to blow it up and then to let the air out.
She does so slowly. Where's all the air that's inside? He asks her. She explains that it's outside, but he's worried that she might blow all the air out of her body to demonstrate that she'll be fine. She blows it up again. At which point Daniel ask, what does assassination mean? Taken aback, lady Ablin lets the air out of the balloon and says, sadly, have you [01:00:00] heard that word a lot lately?
Today? Yes. Daniel says, in a small voice, and I didn't know what it meant. Well, it means somebody getting killed. She says, haltingly in a sort of surprise way. That's what happened. You know that man killed the other man. Daniel tells her, They discuss how everyone's talking about it. Daniel wishes they would talk about something else. Lady Lyn rubs noses with Daniel, as they say, AGA
and aga Maga was their way to say, I love you without saying, I love you. And what a beautiful way to talk with kids. Fred was the master of simple and deep facing. Such a difficult and complex issue head on is the helper. Now following the outline of the show, Fred is back to reality where he says the following.
I've been terribly concerned about the graphic display of [01:01:00] violence, which the mass media has been showing recently, and I plead for your protection and support of your young children,
Fred Rogers looks intensely vulnerable, shattered by the tragic news. He is visibly struggling to remain.
Composed, working hard to bring all his talents to bear on the job of being a helper for the nation's children. Fred was able to do what is very hard to do, which is he was able to simplify complicated things. The gift that helped make Mr. Rogers neighborhood a huge hit
In Boston, for example, it soon had more viewers of ages two to 11 than anything else. In its time, selectbeating out Superman, Batman, Thunderbird Ipy, Perry Mason, and the Merv Griffin Show.
That, my friend, is just one example of the difficult things that Fred would tackle on the show. There are so many more in the book, and I would [01:02:00] highly suggest to pick up a copy of the book if you can. It's really inspiring and motivating a true testament to one man's deep drive towards simple and deep in educating the nation's children.
Now, 1969, Fred's gonna find himself going to Congress to testify on behalf of public television. As the Nixon administration was looking to cut around $20 million from their budget, Fred would go in front of a hard-nosed Senator Pastore. Fred could see that he was really agitated because speaker after speaker we're just getting up in front of him reading prepared remarks.
So what Fred does here is he sets his speeches aside and he does the proper thing. He talks directly to the senator as a human. And you can see this on YouTube, I'll leave a link for it, but Fred, he's gonna describe his concern
about what is being shown on [01:03:00] television and that on his show, they dealt with things such as getting a haircut, feelings about brothers and sisters, and how to deal with anger. The senator, he's already in a bad mood, so he leans forward here and he starts asking questions, and that is always a good sign when people lean forward and they start asking question, Fred goes on to say the following, I give an expression of care every day to each child to help him realize that he is unique.
I end the program by saying, you've made this day a special day by just being who you are. There's no person in the world like you. And I like you just the way you are. And I feel that if we in public television can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable, We will have done a great service for mental health. I think that it's much more dramatic that two men could be working out their feelings of [01:04:00] anger much more dramatic than showing something of gunfire. I'm constantly concerned about what our children are seeing, and for 15 years I've tried in this country and in Canada to present what I feel is a meaningful expression of care.
Mr. Rogers paused hoping his words were having some impact, and right here, the senator, he is gonna tell Fred that he is got goosebumps. As he is listening, Fred responds back and says, well, I'm thankful for your goosebumps senator. At that point, the Senator is gonna say the following. I think it's wonderful. Looks like you've just earned. The $20 million. And in seven minutes, Fred Rogers had personally secured the future of PBS,
for you and I, I think this is just another high quality lesson to look someone in the eye. Treat them with honesty and respect , that builds trust rapidly. And this [01:05:00] helps us in all situations as leaders of building our teams, as in employees, building trust with our bosses or the customers that we service all of our business healings, also in our personal friendships.
It's simple, yet very deep. A beautiful lesson that we learn right here from Fred. Now his show is gonna go on for 30 more years and it's gonna be a major hit all over the world. There's so much detail in the book. I could easily, easily go on for two hours or maybe even more, and I can see some different angles in which to approach making future podcasts on Fred Rogers.
And I'll definitely be doing that a hundred percent.
But for the remainder of the show, I thought I would just pull out some interesting highlights about Fred and then we'll close down with some of the top lessons that we learned from the episode. That sound good? Excellent.
so one thing that I [01:06:00] think made Mr. Rogers neighborhood really popular is that Fred, he wasn't an actor. what we see in the show is how he was in real life. As it's described in the book,
Fred Rogers insisted. I don't think of my time away from the studio as my real life. What I do in the studio is my real life, and the person on the camera is the real me. I think children appreciate having a real person talk with them about feelings that are real to them. He wasn't a lunatic.
He understood the difference between fantasy and reality. I think that really gave him the genuine credibility with his audience. He treated the space between the speaker and the listener as sacred ground. Another thing that I admire about Fred, he was comfortable with long silences. I think silence is one of the greatest gifts we have.
He [01:07:00] said, I think that's so true, and I think that was why I opened the episode with a moment of silence to think about all those people in your life that have impacted you, poured into you, and allowed you to be who you are today. Also, as a tribute to Fred Rogers, he really, really enjoyed silence, and he respected it, and he used it as a gift.
Now, another thing that I think made him great is that he was really devoted to his audience. Listen to this, truckloads of letters poured in by 1975, 15,000 letters a year. The things that people wanna share with you were stunning. Fred said they knew we were a safe place to go. Children wrote to Mr.
Rogers. Asking if he was real or how to stop being afraid of spiders and monsters, or why wishes don't come true. One blind, 5-year-old girl [01:08:00] told him how worried she got if he didn't announce that he was feeding the fish. After that, Mr. Rogers always tried to narrate his daily feeding of the fish.
Everyone got a personal letter back vetted and signed by Mr. Rogers. Often there would be two letters. One for the child, one for the parents. That is impressive. talk about building viewer loyalty. When you get a personal letter back from the man that's on the television, 15,000 letters a year, let's say times 30 years. That's what, 450,000 letters. And then you know, each person probably told 10 or 20 people that they had personally gotten a letter from him. So you extrapolate that out. Four and a half to 9 million people. Are intimately aware of those efforts to send letters out.
That is just amazing.
Fred had this concept of [01:09:00] simple and deep, and he also did the same thing with his daily routine. I just wanted to walk you through this real quick, what his daily routine look like. So for him, bedtime nine 30, he would wake at five 30. He would start with prayers and he often had a long list of people that he was praying for.
Friends, family, people who wrote into his show. He would follow that by Bible reading. And then he had personal reflection time. After that, he would go have a simple breakfast of granola and berries. Then he was off to the athletic center for his morning swim. And then the ritual weighing scale where it was said that he often weighed 143 pounds.
And this was really special to Fred because it took one letter for the word I, four letters for the word love, and three letters for the word you. I love you. And if he was over or under, well simple. Eat more or less. [01:10:00] That was a perfect gauge for him to maintain his weight, and it's so simple. I really love that concept.
After this, he would head to the studio. He would work until lunch, which was typically just yogurt, cheese, and some crackers followed by a long afternoon of working. And then he would go home and have dinner with his wife, which was usually just a salad or a simple meal. Fred, he was a vegetarian long before it was popular to do so.
and he often said that he didn't eat anything with a mother this simple lifestyle. Worked for Fred.
On August 31st, 2001, Fred would film his last episode, and he didn't have a big farewell tour or a big sendoff. This episode was intended to go into rotation with all of the other replays that would be shown over the years.
now shortly after this, Fred is gonna make another helper video after the September [01:11:00] 11th terrorist attacks. I just wanted to read for you how this was described in the book.
Sitting at a piano in front of King Friday's castle, He made a video that distilled what he knew into less than a minute. When children ask about scary events, find out what they already know because their fantasies may be worse than the truth.
Looking straight into the camera, Mr. Rogers said What children probably need to hear the most from us as adults is that they can talk to us about anything and that we will do all we can to keep them safe in a scary time. This was simple.
Yet powerful for the nation's parents to try to help their children make sense of the world around them during such a difficult time. Now, not long after this, Fred is gonna go see a doctor. He was having severe stomach pains and he's gonna learn that he has stomach cancer and [01:12:00] he is gonna delay treatment for many, many months.
'cause he had made a lot of commitments to people and he didn't want to disappoint anyone. He would eventually undergo surgery and during that time they had planned to take out half of his stomach , They're gonna discover that he has cancer all over his body. So Fred would be sent home and he would pass away on February 2004, surrounded by loving family at the age of 74. God bless you, Mr. Rogers. This is really an insightful book about a man that was deeply driven.
He followed his passions.
In the same manner as all of the entrepreneurs that we study on this show. Maybe more so in some cases, the lessons in this book are simple and deep and they're practical for our business lives.
While I couldn't cover all of the details in a full summary, I really look for the lessons that I [01:13:00] thought could help us the most, and I'd just like to recap them here. Fred believed in reflection and so do I. It builds powerful connections It helps us with recall and personal development.
as I'm going over these, just think about how these lessons might be useful in your business, your personal career, or your life.
The first thing that we spoke about was helpers. How to look for those people in business or your lives that can make a big impact in a short period of time. We saw this with Fred, who made a friend with a popular kid in high school who would vouch for Fred, and this changed his entire world around him.
Who might you connect with that could help you in business? I think amazing things will happen if you reach out in the spirit of kindness and curiosity. I believe true connections will happen. the second lesson here was around those magical things in business. Fred had discovered that puppets were magical in engaging his [01:14:00] audience, and he added more of them over time, and he eliminated the things that didn't work, such as children banging on pots and pans.
what are those things in your business that aren't working? Can you eliminate them and do more of the magical things that have helped it to grow and thrive up to this point? Maybe even just start small. Identify one or two things that you could possibly change and then scale from there.
The third lesson that we learned today was about focus, We saw Fred take the radio out of his car so that he would have extra time for focus and reflection as he drove back and forth between the studio and seminary. What are the distractions in your life, my friend?
What could you eliminate that would give you an extra 20 or 30 minutes each day for intense focus or time for reflection right here? Just this extra time could have major impacts on the way [01:15:00] we make business decisions or how we deal with events that are around us in our lives. The fourth lesson is believing in those that work with you.
We saw that when Fred's boss insisted that he go in front of the camera for the first time and host his own show. He's reluctant, but he does so and he does so with great success. We should believe in our employees and empower them to do great things. if you don't believe in them.
Then maybe it's time to seek out those you do believe in and put your trust in them, and I think good things will result. The fifth lesson today is sticking to your principles. Fred resisted advertising. He believed that children's shows should not be used to sell products, and he stuck to his guns.
I believe that too. Mr. Rogers, he was willing to be canceled and he worked on razor thin budgets in his early years, but for him, it [01:16:00] was worth it to maintain his integrity and the trust with his audience. I believe it's a great lesson for us that we should stick to what we believe in in the long run.
It's gonna pay great dividends in business and also in our personal lives. lesson six here. Face difficult situations head on. We saw in the episode today that Fred didn't back down and he was really a master of distilling concepts down for kids and adults. Also, he spoke about assassination issues of race, family issues in a wide range of topics. For us, this translates into facing those difficult situations in business.
Don't hide from 'em. That just makes things worse. Face 'em head on and with full force,
distill things down into smaller elements and deal with the issues in that manner. Whatever it takes [01:17:00] face, the challenges head on. This just feeds into our final lesson, number seven, to be honest with people and look them in the eye and treat them as humans in much the same way that Fred did when he was testifying to that senator about the care that he gives each child Teaching them that feelings are worth mentioning and that they are manageable. He ditched his prepared speech, he did the proper thing, and he had a real conversation, and in seven minutes he secured $20 million in funding that PBS needed. It's an excellent lesson for you and I in business, that we can quickly build trust with someone when we're honest and we look them in the eye and we speak the truth.
those are the top lessons that I took away from this excellent book. I hope that able to find some value in the episode about Fred Rogers and perhaps you have a little different perspective of his life and how deeply driven he [01:18:00] was about taking care of the nation's children in an honest and sincere manner.
If you like the episode today, possibly you would consider sharing it with a business associate or a friend or a family member and bring them into the neighborhood. I do appreciate your time. Thank you very much for listening. It really means the world to me. It does. With that, we'll end here. Until next time, make it a beautiful day in the neighborhood, my friend.