A Year of Excellence, Part Two

Happy Anniversary, Seeking Excellence! My name is Marissa, and I have had the ultimate gift of working alongside Seeking Excellence President Nathan Crankfield over the last year. We have received numerous questions on how we started, what inspired the organization's creation, and how the team got involved. 

Part two of this exclusive Q&A session with Nathan, provides more insight into the hard work and dedication put in over the last year to make Seeking Excellence what it is today! Check out Part One HERE

What has been your most memorable podcast?

That is a good one. We faced a lot of pushback that impacted our personal lives when Emily and I did our initial engagement episode. I really felt like going back in the ring and recording part two was punching the devil in the face. It was like a big F-U, and doing part two of that, was critically important. I was just proud of us for getting back on the horse and just riding back into a battle for that one. I would also say that the Black Lives Matter episode, A Catholic response to BLM with Bella Bryant, was one of my favorites. The Problem with Men Today with Lucas was another one of my favorites; I really, really enjoyed that one! So, yeah, I mean, it's hard to pick. It's hard to choose, but I obviously really enjoy recording with Emily. The other episode that I would say I was really, really proud of, and one of what I felt was my most spirit-led, was the Current State of the Spiritual Battle. That one is still one of our top five, and it was right after I heard Fr Ripperger give a talk at Benedictine College on basically the same topic. I took a lot of that talk and filtered it through my own worldview and my own experiences. I was super on fire, I was pumped up, and I was rocking. Actually, I was still injured, and it was one of the most significant comeback times for me. When I really started to record again, and I was like, F-this injury, it is not gonna hold me back! I'm not gonna stop, and we are going to get after it again. That one definitely has a lot of special meaning to me, just from where I was recording it and the response we got from people.

Those are all really good. I love it. So what have you learned about managing a team this year?

I learned that it's really hard with everyone in different places and so many different personalities. I realized that it's tough when people are in other locations, time zones, and seasons of life. It's also tricky when the team purely volunteers and unexpectedly goes through these massive changes. That's been the biggest challenge. Lucas got engaged, but he also moved from Philadelphia to Austin during that time. Also, Dan's wedding was canceled and pushed back seven months. I think that made it a lot more challenging than it needed to be.

Additionally, learning that there are different personalities. Recognizing trying to find who you can rely on for what and ensuring that people complete what they committed to doing. Finding the people who are motivated and locked into the mission and the vision to really get after it with you. One of the challenges for people in the Catholic world is that it can be hard to find people on the same level of faith. There are not many sprinters in the Church. When you feel like you are one, it can be hard to find that relay team to run with you and those who are willing to run as fast as you want to run. You have to couple that and balance it with the desire that we often have as people to accomplish too much in a short period. You have to balance it and make sure that you're running at a pace, so you're not going to burn out in your first 50-yards. Also, make sure that you're running fast and have people who want to run past that with you. Many people have excellent intentions and goodwill. I also think many of us, including myself, think we can do more than the actual capacity of what we can actually get done. That can lead to friction on the team, and it's been a challenge for us at times as well.

What do you see for the future of Seeking Excellence?

The future for us is all about impact on a massive level. The way that I've been thinking about it recently is kind of this discernment period of whether or not to start a "for-profit" to go along with our ministry. Ultimately, down the road, I believe the future is content creation, coaching, and community. The platform will always have available content via social media and the podcast. We will also have our paid coaching that will help us transform lives to the Seeking Excellence mindset in a one-on-one setting. We are developing the coaching program over the next year and building it out to impact people. The goal is to go deep and then grow that out over time. The community aspect of our organization is going moderately deep with a bunch of people. Incorporating training group leaders, coaches, groups. That may be small groups out of Parishes or high schoolers and Youth Ministry. We might be helping a group of people to go through it at a time, taking a cohort to the coaching program, which still gets a lot of the wisdom and practicality and benefits of it, but without necessarily a personal tailored approach to what we're going to be helping people to do. The accessible avenue would continue to be the nonprofit side. It would be coupled with a for-profit company to have the ability to give the coaching and the community aspect of it to those who aren't financially able. 

How do you keep yourself accountable to uphold the Seven Pillars in your day-to-day life?

Well, I can tell you that it's not easy. I think that's been one of my biggest lessons learned this year. It's really a reminder that we have to tell ourselves every day. I talked to my cousin on the phone today, and he said to me that he's been struggling to fit it all in. Having a full-time job, working out, incorporating time to read, fostering strong relationships with family and friends, and remaining mentally & emotionally healthy is not easy. Before I started all of this, I committed that difficulty was not going to be a factor that would allow me to quit. It wasn't going to let me stop just because it is challenging. I think a lot of people don't seek Excellence because it is so hard. I have had to constantly remind myself that we ebb and flow in different ways. For example, my prayer life is solid, but I'm out of shape. I've been reading a lot, but my physical fitness has waned, especially with the injury. Thinking about that now, as I put more time into that physical therapy and getting back to the gym, sometimes I have to sacrifice time with Emily or reading. I have to reprioritize that, so the constant balance of the mind of trying to figure it out is very real. 

The main task that I try to hold myself accountable for is keeping the people around me on the path to Excellence. Luckily, I have many great friends striving in the seven different pillars, and then they help hold me accountable and inspire me to try harder in each area. It's the intake of knowledge and wisdom and finding out what really motivates you. One of the most motivating things to me is being a leader in this ministry and being the face of Seeking Excellence. I know that I don't want to be a fraud. I've never been one to be a fraud. I've never liked people who are hypocrites or at least aren't actively giving their all to living the lifestyle they're claiming to preach. Impossible syndrome can attack anyone. I never wanted that to be me on a large scale, to be someone who has given up and is trying to convince people to live a lifestyle that I'm not pursuing. Leading and talking about it all helps me to put that into practice. I recorded today with David Calavitta, and afterward, I was just like, Man, I'm so blessed to talk with these incredible people who just teach me so much and challenge me in so many ways without even knowing it. When I listen to podcasts I've recorded with great people like Louis Damani Jones, Austin Quick, Emily, or Bella Bryant, I feel that way. Man, I'm just so convicted and challenged by their holiness, by their wisdom, by their zeal for the Lord. It really helps to talk to people who call you out on your BS, directly or indirectly.

What is one piece of advice you give to someone looking to start up their own ministry or their own podcast or blog, etc.?

I talked about this in the last podcast that we released in August. I recommend you check that out. One of the main things is just getting started, and there is definitely timing to it. I genuinely believe that in my prayer and where I was in my military career at the time of 2018 when Bob and I first met to talk about Seeking Excellence, it wasn't the right time, and I was eager to do it. Since I was 19 years old, I have thought about this and have wanted to do something and started  doing things since I graduated from college. But through my military time and knowing the training stuff that we had coming up, I knew that it was just going to be hard for this. And so you have to discern that, obviously. And I think there is prudence in waiting at times, but you still don't delay improving yourself and growing so that you are ready to begin when the time comes. There's a lot of people I look back on. For example, I have a friend who wanted to create a YouTube account channel for Trads with the hope of spreading joy showing that people in the Catholic Trad community are not all negative or judgmental or whatever the stereotypes work. And it's like, Man, if my friend was a year into that mission, how much better would it have been? Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio came out, and you know what I mean, really hit a blow to that community. Having that ministry in place would have impacted hundreds of lives with a positive message towards trads, which would have created more unity around this time. I'm not saying that this person is wrong for not doing it, but I know in my own life when I've experienced regret before, one of the main things is just getting started.

I would tell you that you definitely want to have a good team around you. I've seen multiple times other podcasts hosts be mind-blown when I tell them that I don't create the social media, nor do I edit the actual audio files of the podcast. Finding other people who believe in your mission and learning about what they're willing to commit to and what they're prepared to do for you, and what you can count them for. I find myself saying that people are always confused by the magnitude of our team. I try to always highlight that there is a group of us, and I wouldn't be here without the team. Lastly, you have to recognize that it will ebb and flow, but you have to keep moving forward. Whenever things feel hard, they want to stop. A week ago, I felt very discouraged; it has been a challenging time with all the changes. I've dealt with unexpected adversity; it has been a tough season for mental health, and just feeling really discouraged. I didn't want to do a podcast.

I was like, man, now I see for the first time in a year, I felt like now I see why people take months off for podcasting. Now I see why people take these seasons off, and they do three months on, six months out, or whatever it is. I never wanted to do that. You have the same desolation moments in places like Ranger school or on deployments or in your marriage or in your physical fitness journey where you just don't feel like doing it. I always remember the Cal Ripken Jr. interview where he broke the record and played over a thousand straight MLB games in a row. They said, how did you do it? How did you get yourself up on the days you didn’t have the time or where you felt hurt? Everyone asked Cal, how did you do it? And he said, it was the weirdest thing, but every day I didn't feel like playing, I would go out there, and I would play anyway. Then something good would always happen. He said some of his best games were the ones he didn't want to play, yet he always performed well. Cal Ripken Jr. began to associate his feeling of not wanting to play with something good will happen if he follows through with his commitment. Then it turned out that's what ended up going down most of the time. That was my experience last weekend; it's like podcasting. This week I've done four in a row, and it's been a great week, and I feel so blessed to be here to be doing it, but I'm glad I didn't quit. I'm happy I didn't give up and do nothing. There's time to take breaks and step away. I tried to get a lot of content and podcasts done and get the team ready for my absence when I would go on vacation and things like that. There are ways to go about it so that you don't have to lose momentum or dodge out on your commitment to the people who are listening to you.

Last question, if you could turn the clock back to January 1, 2020, what would you tell yourself then to prepare yourself for what was to come? You were about to get involved with all the people you've met, all the people you've talked to, just all the people that have come into your life.

There's been a lot; there's been some crazy shit to think about. It's been a crazy 20 months. Wow, January 2020? I was on and off in a past relationship. I was working at Dynamic Catholic and thought I would be there for another four and a half years. I was living in Cincinnati at the time. 

Wow. Yeah. Great questions. So What would I tell myself? Other than stretching? Haha! One of my favorite books that I've read in the last 20 months is The Soul of The Apostolate, and that book was recommended to me by Dr. Tim Gray from the Augustine Institute. Emily actually gave me a copy of this book a week before Dr. Greg recommended it to me. And that was in July of 2020. If I would have had that six months earlier, I think I would have been a lot better off. I would have really understood on a deeper level from the very beginning how much you need the Holy Spirit to be your driving force in everything that you do. I think after reading that, I pray more before podcasting now, and I am a lot more confident when I record. I'm more rooted in who God created me to be and have allowed myself to be more docile in the hands of the Lord. I am to be more of an instrument instead of making things more about my personality or anything that I can personally accomplish on my own. The book The Soul of The Apostolate really highlights the need for ministry, to have a soul, for us to take care of, for us to recognize that we're spirit-driven, that we're trying to lead people closer to God, and that we need to be Holy to do that. I've seen that many times in ministry & have been frustrated a lot with that in the different places of the Church. I've worked with various things that I've done and even to myself trying to help other people become more Holy without being Holy myself. And so, I think that if I knew that I had seven months to prepare to start Seeking Excellence, I would have really gotten my life much more in order than it was in January of 2020.

This has been great, Nathan. Any final thoughts?

Lastly, as we reflect on some of this last year, I'm obviously super grateful to God, I'm very thankful for the team, and the last thing that we haven't mentioned is just how grateful I am for everyone who has listened. I receive messages from people who say I send your content to all my family and friends, especially when they got the Black and White Like Me letters. Actually, this is a crazy story that Emily heard while working at the archdiocese of Denver. She said that one of her co-workers geeked out today because he realized that his wife sent him the black and white letters I wrote last month. He said he just went through each letter with his men's small group in his Parish in Denver. How crazy is that?!

I'm just very grateful for all the people who have offered encouragement. Many people don't realize how far that goes. There's a lot of negativity out there, and I don't know if politically correct is the proper term or just challenging things that go against the grain but sometimes with our content, especially in today's world, the things we share socially are challenging things on faith. The encouragement from people, whether they have 13 followers or they have 40,000. It means a lot to us. And I'm very grateful for that. Super appreciative, especially for Bobby Angel and how he believed in us last summer, over a year ago before we even really launched Seeking Excellence. Our board of directors and all the ways that they've shared their knowledge and insight with us. Father Myer and Chase for their prayers and their guidance and friendship throughout this time. To everyone who listens and has provided that encouragement and feedback, thank you because it really does help us to grow. I hope that you're excited about what's to come.