Gratitude vs. Entitlement with Peter Greer, President/CEO of HOPE International and Former Messiah College Footballer

In Episode 126, Peter Greer, President/CEO of HOPE International and former Messiah College footballer, talks with Paul and Phil about his path from Messiah College to alleviating poverty with Hope International, how he built in accountability to ensure that he puts his family first, why it is so important to be grateful for everything and entitled to nothing, some of the great lessons he learned from his coaches and teammates at Messiah, how he is using those lessons in his collaborative work with Hope, the need for us to be kind to referees (and why it matters), why we need more grace and less judgment in our sports and the rest of the world, team vs. individual, rooting for our rivals, not settling for mediocrity, and much more. Specifically, Peter discusses:

·      His personal story, including how he grew his passion for soccer and leadership, and how he got to be where he is today (4:13)

·      His work with HOPE Int’l and how HOPE is working to alleviate poverty around the world (7:14)

·      His personal why/mission statement and how he is living it out (11:13)

·      Why his wife has Peter’s resignation letter from Hope Int’l and what he is doing to ensure she doesn’t send it (13:45)

·      The Messiah Method and how Peter’s experienced it and lived it out during his college years and beyond (17:47)

·      How he saw the Messiah program building toward the run of National Championships while he was playing there (22:38)

·      How he is using the lessons he learned at Messiah in his work with HOPE Int’l (26:13)

·      How he uses lessons learned from soccer in his collaborative projects around the world (33:01)

·      A couple soccer analogies that Peter uses in his life regularly (37:12)

·      Why we need more grace than judgment in our world – and yes, that includes with referees ; ) (40:37)

·      Defining moments in his life and how they impacted his life and leadership (44:55)

·      Some of the great coaches he has played for and a couple whose leadership stick out above the rest, and what he learned from those great coaches (50:17)

·      His thoughts on the current state of US Soccer, and what we can do about it (55:26)

·      How he has used lessons learned from sports in his marriage and parenting (1:01:31)

·      His podcast recommendation (1:03:30)

Resources and Links from this Episode

·      HOPE International Website

·      Rooting for Rivals: How Collaboration and Generosity Increase the Impact of Leaders, Charities, and Churches, by Peter Greer

·      The Messiah Method: The Seven Disciplines of the Winningest College Soccer Program in America, by Michael Zigarelli

·      Uncut Video of the Episode

·      HSEL Facebook Group

·      Warrior Way Soccer

·      Coaching the Bigger Game Program

·      Phil’s email for DISC Training