Values Driven Leadership: Caring is a Competitive Advantage

Content note: This episode includes open conversation about mental health, suicidal ideation, and personal crisis. If you are struggling, please know you are not alone. In the U.S., call or text 988. In Canada, call Talk Suicide Canada at 1-833-456-4566. A conversation with Trevor Muir -- leadership coach, keynote speaker, poet, and co-founder of SurePoint, the Alberta-based company he helped scale from $4 million to over $120 million in revenue while holding on to its people through a near-bankruptcy and a pandemic. This is not an episode about farming or fuel prices. It is a conversation about what happens when you get everything you thought you wanted and still feel empty on the bathroom floor of a condo you own. It is about terminal uniqueness -- the belief that nobody could possibly understand -- and the slow, expensive way most of us learn it isn't true. Trevor and I met earlier this year in a leadership course he was teaching with Corliss Russell. I broke down in the intro. A room full of oilfield and farm guys went there with me. This episode is the conversation I wanted to have with Trevor once the dust settled.   Topics and Timestamps 0:00 -- Introduction: Trevor Muir, Lean In to Lead, and why this episode exists 6:57 -- SurePoint: how ten farm kids from Grand Prairie built a $92M company 8:17 -- The bathroom floor: Edmonton, 2011, the worst and best day of Trevor's life 10:44 -- Dr. Gons and the life coach: "I get it. I totally get it." 13:13 -- Terminal uniqueness: the belief that nobody could understand your pain 14:21 -- Mount Kilimanjaro and the billionaire: testing whether all humans feel the same 20:00 -- SurePoint near-bankruptcy: going full-vulnerable with team, vendors, and clients 23:00 -- Buying the company back in 2018 and the pandemic decision 25:43 -- The pandemic pay cuts: 10%-35%, keeping every employee 27:39 -- $30M to $98M to $125M: how caring became a competitive advantage 30:00 -- Scale Like You Give a Shit -- Trevor's book in progress 37:00 -- "Change Your Someday to Today": the poem, Marty's CPR story, and Brian's car 43:11 -- The three A's of change: awareness, acceptance, action 44:34 -- The flooding basement analogy 51:00 -- Affirmations: "I am enough, I deserve abundance, I love you [name]" 57:02 -- 30 days in the mirror: the NASA research and Jack Canfield connection 1:00:04 -- Gratitude as the number one brain hack 1:07:29 -- Wave of fortune: Dan's Thailand story and Vadim Zeland's Transurfing 1:15:00 -- Walking one kilometer every day for 365 days 1:27:00 -- How Trevor works with business owners now, and where AI fits in 1:35:12 -- Trevor's closing challenge: change your someday to today   Resources Mentioned Addiction to Poetry -- Trevor Muir (book, available on Amazon) Lean In to Lead -- Trevor's podcast, launching soon Scale Like You Give a Shit -- Trevor's book in progress on the SurePoint story Jack Canfield -- affirmation and manifestation framework Mindvalley / Vishon Lakhiani -- gratitude research Wim Hof Method -- 90-day cold exposure and breathwork program Transurfing -- Vadim Zeland (wave of fortune concept) 12 Rules for Life -- Jordan Peterson (lobster and serotonin, referenced by Dan) Corliss Russell -- Conversations with Corliss podcast; LEED event Saskatoon, November 2026   Connect with Trevor Muir LinkedIn: search Trevor Muir -- he reads his messages and responds, especially from people who are struggling Lean In to Lead podcast: launching soon Connect with Growing the Future Website: growingthefuture.ca YouTube: Growing the Future Instagram: @growingthefuture LinkedIn: Growing the Future   Crisis Support If you or someone you know is struggling: Canada -- Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566 U.S. -- Call or text 988 Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.