Interview with Clint Pulver

I was lucky enough to interview Clint Pulver for this project. Clint Pulver is a professional keynote speaker, author, and so much more who specializes in helping corporations with employee retention. He is an amazing person, mentor, drummer, and follower of Jesus Christ. 

Clint got his start in public speaking at 18 years old after giving a talk in the church which was heard by a leadership training company owner that asked him to come and speak at a couple of events. He then went to school and got degrees in communication and leadership, then worked as a pilot before working in the medical field and returning to public speaking. Clint was a motivational speaker for youth and schools for several years before moving into speaking for corporations about employee retention. I was lucky enough to meet Clint on a youth trip to Guatemala, where he spoke to us and worked with us all on a personal level—becoming an inspiration and an example to me ever since. 

During my interview with him, Clint shared with me his three P’s that led him to his career. He explained that finding the right job or business to start is about finding something that meets your Passion, is Purposeful, and Provides for your family. He explained that speaking and communication were a passion of his and is something that he felt he was good at and is exciting to him. His work is purposeful because it helps other people, not just him. Lastly, he was lucky enough that these aligned and that speaking was a lucrative career that allowed him to meet his and his family's needs. 

Clint shared with me that one of the hardest things about being an entrepreneur is that there is always more to do and that sometimes we end up working 80 hours a week because we don’t want to work 40. It is important to know when enough is enough, to know when we can’t do anymore, and how to take time for our families when we need to: after all, that is the reason for having a business. It can be hard to do this because of the lack of structure your life can feel when you own a business. Along those same lines, he expressed the importance of knowing when to get help by hiring someone to work for the business as the business grows. Often we feel like we need to do the work on our own or that we can do it “better,” but we need to be able to ask for help and hire the right team so that the business can continue to thrive. 

I asked Clint what his dreams and aspirations were for his business and he shared with me a very insightful thought. He explained that there are always more mountains to climb in business and often we feel like we climb the top of one mountain just to find that we are at the bottom of a new mountain. These mountains are great to continue to climb but there is great value in stopping at the top of a couple of the mountains to see the view. He explained that that was where he felt like his business was at the moment and that the work he had done up to that point allowed him to sit back and see the view for a little while without needing the climb that next mountain as soon as possible. I really liked the perspective he shared on that because I do think it is important to be grateful for those times and allow one’s self to rest for a moment and be grateful for the progress that has been made. 

I asked Clint a question about something that I have been trying to figure out for my life in business which was “Have you ever had to deal with impostor syndrome?” He explained that that wasn’t very present in his life and career because he built his confidence from experiences and from putting in the reps speaking to smaller groups and events and growing from there. I thought that this was very applicable to my life and was a great example for me to follow by spending time working from my experiences— working hard to put in the reps in smaller ways. Thus by doing so, will help build confidence and prepare me for larger things in the future. 

One of Clint’s greatest teachings is that being the best for the world is more important than being the best in the world. He shows this with his example and how he lives his life. The idea is focused on doing things for others and not letting selfish desires run our lives. It was a great thing for me to evaluate for myself and my goals. In what ways are my goals selfish? How can I think about others more and make sure my work serves others around me? As I thought about this I found myself getting more excited for my goals. In most cases, I didn’t throw my goals out the window, but thought more about how I can help others around me along my path to those goals, and also help people once I have achieved those goals. I found that this adjustment in mindset made me excited and more motivated, feeling like I was going to do some good in the world by achieving my goals instead of taking from other people. 

The last thing I asked Clint was “What advice would you give a young person wanting to be an entrepreneur?” He answered giving advice that the young person needs to find someone who is doing and living exactly what you want and do whatever it takes to be close to that person. You could work for that person, ask to shadow them, connect with them outside of work, etc. The point was that there are people doing amazing things and being close to those people will help you learn from experience and learn from that person's example on how to achieve a similar level of success. I thought it was very insightful advice and I am still working on how to apply that in my personal life and what to do about it. 

I feel indebted with gratitude for what Clint shared with me and the example he is to me. I admire the things he does with work, and I hope to emulate some of the skills he embodies. I hope to continue to develop my ability to be enthusiastic, tell my story in impactful ways, bring out the best in people, and ultimately live a life of meaning by working hard while taking care of family. Getting to learn from entrepreneurs excites me for my future in business and life along this journey of entrepreneurship.