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1The Origins
2Iwas feeling defeated. I was sitting in the parking lot of a food bank. My home was in foreclosure, I led for bankruptcy, my wife lost respect for me, money was gone, and I felt smaller than I had at any other point in my life. My identity at that time was wrapped up in the idea that my manliness, my worth, my whole purpose of being, was tied to my ability to provide. After the market crash of 2008, and some poor nancial choices, that was all stripped away and all that was left was the chaos I invited in.A friend of mine at the time, Julie Blake, said I needed to meet someone. She built this man up like he could help me shift my world. I had a taste of coaching through a good friend of mine and was intrigued with the idea of coaching, writing, and speaking; I mean, who better to coach than someone who is in the pits of despair, right?! I agreed to talk with this person, Steve Hardison, and she arranged a call. I didn’t know when Steve would call; I just knew to watch for him. His call came through when I was at my lowest of lows. I was ready to walk into the food bank, and when I saw his number on my caller ID, I paused. I remember sitting in the front of our SUV (an older, tan Ford Expedition) and giving my full attention to this stranger.
3the love I felt in that conversation was as close to what I imagine a conversation with Jesus might be to anything I had experienced to that point in my life. I felt like I was the only person in the world. Like it was him and I and that no one else existed. We were the only two people on the planet. We talked for nearly an hour, and that single conversation was pivotal in my life.I remember asking Steve a question, something along the lines of, “Can you…,” but before I could nish, he said, “Yes!” I didn’t remember what I was going to ask because his answer was so sudden and unexpected that the only thing I could say was, “How can you say yes if you don’t know what I am going to ask?” He answered, and I don’t take this as a light answer, “There is nothing you can ask me that is beyond my ability to complete. There is nothing bigger than me. I can do anything!”I remember parts of the conversation, but that’s not what stood out the most. What I remember most is how I felt. I mean, let’s imagine you got a call from Jesus. How would that go?! I’m not implying this man is Jesus, but
4Ididn’t hear that from that space of arrogance or from a space of delusion; this man truly knew he could accomplish anything, whether by himself or with the support of others, he could achieve anything, and the answer stuck with me--like glue on my consciousness. It was so impactful that it became an integral part of what transpired.After that conversation, my life didn’t change drastically. I was still working with my brother in Park City, driving an hour in each direction, listening to audiobook after audiobook. At that time, if audiobooks came in IV form, I would have signed up. I remember listening to “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson on one of those commutes. I remember thinking, “I could write this!” and so I did. I was inspired at that moment, but I didn’t know what I would write. During my commute, I remember seeing the vast mansions up on the hill, and I wondered, “How did they get there? Why are they living such giant lives while I am living this small one? Is that possible for me?” The very questions you see in my book, The Giants and the Smalls: The Adventure of Rimi and Ritt.
5Ispoke that book into existence as I would drive to work. With a voice recorder in hand, Spencer Johnson’s story fresh in my mind, the words of Steve Hardison bouncing around in my head, turning the reality I thought I knew into mush, like a chrysalis of creation, I recorded that book as I would commute. I would come home, transcribe it, share it with my kids, and adjust. It took nearly a year to get the foundation of the book.I wrote this book standing on the shoulders of Giants, standing on the shoulder of Steve Hardison, imagining what he would teach me if he commuted with me. I was Ritt, the Small, and he was Rimi, the Giant.It took me eleven years to get that book published. For years, it collected dust on a bookshelf. The manuscript was complete, but the story wasn’t over. It took another crisis for me to wake up my inner Giant.In 2019, my wife and I got divorced, and that put me into another tailspin. I needed something to hold me in this world. I was ready to leave, and I saw no point in all of the chaos I felt I was going through. My book helped anchor me and gave me a purpose on which to focus. I dove in! In 2020, the book was published—a beautifully illustrated work with hints of some of the nest talents in the world. People like Steve Hardison, Richard Paul Evans, Jenna Evans Welch, Steve Chandler, Stephen McGhee (there are many Steve’s in the coaching industry), Debbie Roth, and many others inuenced this work.
6The Giants and the Smalls: The Adventure of Rimi and Ritt is a book that teaches coaching from the perspective of The Ultimate Giant, Steve Hardison. It’s amazing how one conversation, a single dialogue, can in uence a global movement. I am eternally grateful that Steve let me stand on his shoulder that fateful day. He helped me catch a vision that never faded and is now making a diff erence in every reader. I AM a Giant! I AM a Giant because of people like Steve Hardison.This book was a children’s book written for adults that is changing the world; a book that is becoming a Pixar animated movie. A book that reaches the hands of 100 million people worldwide. A book in uences people from every background, culture, race, socio-economic status, age, and ability to strive for their highest potential. A book that creates a world
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