Podcast Special Guest, Heidar Thordarson

Heidar Thordarson
Episode 60

In this episode, sit down with host Japhet De Oliveira and Heidar Thordarson as they discuss faith, the joys of excel, and the intersections of sports and leadership.
Libsyn Podcast
"I find peace and joy on the field or on the course ... When everything is in a line and you just take a deep breath, you get that moment to kind of clear your mind."

Narrator: Welcome, friends, to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira, with his guest today, and discover the moments that shape us, our families, and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Welcome to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. I am delighted to still be here for this particular episode at Adventist Health Castle, in Hawaii. I am sitting opposite our new guest today. He is smiling in anticipation. We're going to find out if he's got fear or just joy ahead of him. All right, so anybody who's brand new listening to the podcast, the way it works, we have 100 questions. First 10 I ask, as you get closer to 100 it becomes more vulnerable, more open, and our guest gets to decide where they want to go. So, let's dive in straight away by asking you, what's you name, and does anybody ever mispronounce it, spell it incorrectly, mess it up in any way?

Heidar Thordarson: Yeah. Thanks for having me, Japhet. My name is Heidar Thordarson, I'm the CFO here at Castle. People misspell, mispronounce my name all the time. It's very rare that people get it right the first time. I've heard from Radar to Hadar, Heedar. The list goes on.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. That's fantastic. I was going to ask you what you do for a living, but you kind of announced it there as well, which is actually really great. So, CFO?

Heidar Thordarson: CFO. I've been here at Castle for almost five years.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Heidar Thordarson: It's my second time here in Hawaii. Moved from Chicago both times, avoided their winters and came to the cool 75 degree winters in Hawaii instead of the -15 degrees in Chicago.

Japhet De Oliveira: And the wind.

Heidar Thordarson: And the wind. That wind was brutal.

Japhet De Oliveira: The wind. It is. Although, you do have great summers in Chicago as well.

Heidar Thordarson: Great summers. Love the summers. Love the city.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, the city's fantastic.

Heidar Thordarson: But those winters are brutal.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Heidar, where were you born?

Heidar Thordarson: I was born in Iceland. Born and raised there. Moved to the US when I was nine with my family, and spent most of my childhood high school years in the Midwest, Ohio, West Virginia, and Indiana area.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Everybody's going to Iceland now. It is the hotspot for vacations. I hear this from people all the time. Have you been back?

Heidar Thordarson: I went back couple times in the last few years. In 2017, I took my wife there for her first time, and my first time in 16 years.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, my.

Heidar Thordarson: Had a great time catching up with aunts, uncles, cousins, and family over there, and showing her the place. It's changed quite a bit. Quite a bit over the 16 years since I've been there. Lot more tourism now than before, but beautiful place.

Japhet De Oliveira: This is not one of the questions, but I have to ask, is there a tradition in Iceland that you had and you brought it over here?

Heidar Thordarson: Yeah. Probably the biggest one is Christmas, just Christmas in general. Christmas Eve Iceland starts Christmas. The church bells ring on the radio. There's nobody out anywhere. We always spent Christmas Eve at home with the family. We have same dinner every Christmas. Open gifts Christmas Eve. It's very special family time. We try to do that here. So, that's been one that just... It's very heavy tradition for Christmas. We have 13 Santa Clauses, and so they start coming down from the mountains before Christmas, and leave again 13 days after.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Heidar Thordarson: It's just a fun time and a cool experience and culture.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good season.

Heidar Thordarson: Good season.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. That's fantastic. Now, when you were a child in Iceland, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Heidar Thordarson: Soccer player.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Heidar Thordarson: In Iceland, everybody wants to play soccer, or football over there. So, that was always in the dream, but I was never good enough for that. But, every kid wants to be a doctor, fireman, policeman at some point, so I think I went through all of that.

Japhet De Oliveira: You went through all of that.

Heidar Thordarson: Accountant was never on my list until I got to high school.

Japhet De Oliveira: And then you became CFO.

Heidar Thordarson: And then I became CFO.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. That's great. I hear only great things, financially as well as about Adventist Health Castle. You guys are doing amazing and caring for the community.

Heidar Thordarson: We've done well in the last couple of years, despite very tough circumstances. We have a great team. Great leadership from top to bottom. It makes all the difference. We've had to make some tough choices from time to time, but it's allowed us to really get in a growth phase now and make some fun and good investments and endeavors we would not have been able done otherwise. It's fun right now. When you're in growth phase it's fun.

Japhet De Oliveira: That is good.

Heidar Thordarson:

We have a good foundation to be able to do that.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well done. Well done. If people were to describe your personality, would they describe you as an introvert or an extrovert, and would you agree?

Heidar Thordarson: Most people call me an introvert. When I did the Myers-Briggs Test back in the day, I was actually a little bit more extrovert than introvert, but kind of that 50-50, 51-49. I think over time I'm probably a little bit more introvert at this point. I always start out quiet, I'm back of the room, I won't talk to anybody until get comfortable, and then once I start talking I don't shut up.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh hey, that's good. Works well with this podcast. That's good.

Heidar Thordarson: Yeah, it's perfect.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. Early riser, late night owl? Which one?

Heidar Thordarson: Oh, early riser.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really? Like what?

Heidar Thordarson: I'm usually asleep by 9:00 and up by 5:30, 6:00-ish.

Japhet De Oliveira: Nice.

Heidar Thordarson: It's changed over time. I used to be late at night and get up late, but last few years it just changed.

Japhet De Oliveira: When you get up in the morning, do you have coffee, tea, do you have one of those liquid green smoothies?

Heidar Thordarson: Cup of coffee. Do one on weekdays, two on weekends, and then I'm off.

Japhet De Oliveira: You got a system. I like this.

Heidar Thordarson: I have my system. I get up, make my coffee, take shower, get ready, come out, coffee's ready. I usually have about 30 minutes or so to kind of sit on the couch, drink the coffee-

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure, process.

Heidar Thordarson: ... take a nice little quiet time as I get my day going-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Heidar Thordarson: ... and then go from there.

Japhet De Oliveira: Then go, go, go.

Heidar Thordarson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: And then, this morning when you woke up at 5:30, what was the first thought that went through your mind?

Heidar Thordarson: Can I go back to sleep?

Japhet De Oliveira: Understood.

Heidar Thordarson: We've had a lot of family visiting, which has been great, but it means we're staying up a little later so that 5:30 comes early right now.

Japhet De Oliveira: Rather quickly.

Heidar Thordarson: Usually when I wake up I just think about what's coming up in the day and just go through, see what's coming up, and start mentally getting ready.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. Here's the last question in this particular section, and then I'll hand over to you to choose the numbers. It's a leadership question. Are you a backseat driver?

Heidar Thordarson: That's a tough question. Should we take that couple different ways?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Heidar Thordarson: If you take it from the, "I am not a micromanager look over your shoulder," and if you go with that route... I always tell the people that I work with that I'm successful when they're successful. And my main job is to make sure that they can do their job, so that they can be successful in their job. I try to make sure that they have the authority and power to do what they think is best. And if they hit any struggles, any hurdles, they can come to me and it's my job to remove those barriers. So, that's kind of my style. I believe that leaders are in those positions for a reason, and if we put them in those positions we need to trust that they'll do the job and do it well. We have to have that faith in them.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's good. That's good. Well then, we are now at the point where you get to pick a number, where would you like to begin?

Heidar Thordarson: I'll start with my soccer number, 16.

Japhet De Oliveira: 16, all right, here we go. Tell us about one of the places you've traveled to and why you want to go back.

Heidar Thordarson: OK, good question. Iceland's the obvious one, but I'll go with another one. Just before COVID, the last trip that we took was to Ireland from here. That's like 24-hour flight. It was a long, long trip. Took us three days to recover. We went to the Hurling finals, the all-Ireland final.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, my.

Heidar Thordarson: Had a great time. Fun fact, I played Hurling in Indianapolis and got the 2017 Junior B National Champion from Chicago. I was with them before I moved here and they let me come join them for the final championship game. They carried me, but got the medal nonetheless. Me and my wife, we took about two weeks in Ireland just driving around, renting a car and just...

Japhet De Oliveira: It's beautiful.

Heidar Thordarson: We did the south part of the country and just had a great time. Beautiful scenery.

Japhet De Oliveira: Great people.

Heidar Thordarson: Great people. We kind of found small roads to small town somewhere. It was just a fun experience. Love to go back. We got some friends there too, and it'll be great to see them. Just a fun country. A beautiful country.

Japhet De Oliveira: It really is. It really is. That's beautiful. Up or down from 16?

Heidar Thordarson: We'll go up. How about 21?

Japhet De Oliveira: 21. Share the best compliment you've ever received.

Heidar Thordarson: Oh, jeez.

Japhet De Oliveira: You're welcome.

Heidar Thordarson: That's a tough one.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Heidar Thordarson: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Take you're time.

Heidar Thordarson: You know what? Probably one of the better ones... I'll go with more recent ones. We had a surprise survey from a state agency and the nursing team... Heard a lot afterwards about nursing team just appreciated how we supported them, we were behind them. I think it was I wasn't afraid to stand up to the survey, with them. It was the fact that I was willing to stand up for the nursing team, that they really appreciated.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Heidar Thordarson: It's nice to get that. When you got finance and nursing, sometimes you get a little bit back-and-forth with them. Here, I think we got a good relationship, but it's still nice to hear when they appreciate something we're doing.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. Good, good. Right, so where next?

Heidar Thordarson: How about 31? Let's keep going up.

Japhet De Oliveira: 31. All right then. Tell us about someone you'd love to eat dinner with, the sky's the limit.

Heidar Thordarson: Easy. Sir Alex Ferguson. I'm a Manchester United fan. They're struggling right now, so I'm not as proud as normal.

Japhet De Oliveira: This podcast is about to end.

Heidar Thordarson: I'm born and raised United fan. Sir Alex, he is one of the greatest coaches.

Japhet De Oliveira: You are crossing a line here.

Heidar Thordarson: When you're top three almost every year for 26 years in a row...

Japhet De Oliveira: OK.

Heidar Thordarson: What he's done, it's-

Japhet De Oliveira: It's true.

Heidar Thordarson: ... pretty awesome. I probably should say, I'm also a Duke fan, fun story there. I played Duke as a game with Super Nintendo and picked some random team, happened to be Duke, saw them on TV a few years later and realized that people hated that team. I'm already stuck. But, another team that has great coaches, Coach K. What they've done is taken different teams, changing their style and their play type to the team and what strengths they have, versus making players fit their system. It's something that just shows great leaders can adapt to their team. I think that's a sign of a good coach and a good leader, is it doesn't matter who's with them, they can take the best side of anybody and bring them up to new level. That's something that Alex and Coach K both did, and so I'd sit down with either one of them any time.

Japhet De Oliveira: That is good. That is really good. So, up from there.

Heidar Thordarson: 37.

Japhet De Oliveira: 37, all right. What do you like most about your family?

Heidar Thordarson: Good question. We're very close. We moved around quite a bit when I was younger and got to experience a lot of different places with that. My dad is a pastor, and so there's some moves that come with that. We ended up being quite close through a time. We went through our phases where we argued and fought a lot, like every family does. But end of the day, I know that all... I'm one of four, so three siblings, and I know that every one of us will do whatever we can for each other. Our parents make sure that no matter what you do, they're always there for us.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Heidar Thordarson: It made a very open and trusting relationship between all of us. So much so that my sister moved to Hawaii first back in 2006 and helped get me out here. And then, my brother followed. And then, this time around I moved here and then I returned the favor and got my sister out here, so she's here in Hawaii as well. We've always stayed close and had a relationship.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's beautiful. All right, where next?

Heidar Thordarson: I may regret this, how about 55?

Japhet De Oliveira: 55. It's beautiful. Here's 55. Share something, if you wouldn't mind, that frightens you.

Heidar Thordarson: Oh, something that frightens me. Can I say snakes?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes, you can.

Heidar Thordarson: I think that's one, that every time I see a snake on TV or coming out, I get a little shiver.

Japhet De Oliveira: Even on TV? All right.

Heidar Thordarson: Yeah. I'm blessed to not have any snakes in Hawaii. It's one thing I'm OK with being out here. There's not a ton that truly scares or frightens me. You always have a healthy fear of heights and public speaking in front of large crowds, but I also try to... I've had enough experiences to face those fears that you kind of learn how to get over them.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Heidar Thordarson: So, when I have it, I just take a deep breath and just-

Japhet De Oliveira: Continue on.

Heidar Thordarson: ... continue on.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. So, that's 55. It wasn't scary. It's great.

Heidar Thordarson: Not too bad, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, where next?

Heidar Thordarson: Let's go 61, we'll continue up.

Japhet De Oliveira: 61, all right. Tell us about a time in your life that required incredible courage.

Heidar Thordarson: I think there's a lot of times in my current role where, as a CFO, you have to make a tough recommendation from time to time. During COVID, we had to make some tough decisions just to make sure that we could survive as a hospital and do fine. I think it took a bit of courage during that time to not be afraid or be willing to put things on the table that weren't popular. Not that we have to do everything, but at least be willing to put stuff out there to talk about and go through, and be willing to listen, debate, and then make the best decision for the hospital from there. I think that took some courage.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's true, that's true. That's good. That's beautiful. I think you're absolutely right, I think every single hospital system felt the same way during COVID.

Heidar Thordarson: Absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira: You have to make tough, courageous, decisions, yeah. Good. Where next, sir?

Heidar Thordarson: Let's go back down. How about 44?

Japhet De Oliveira: 44, here it is. What is something that you are proud to have created?

Heidar Thordarson: I am an accountant by background, so I am not known for creativity. But, I'll go a little bit different on this question. In Indianapolis, when I lived there from 2010 to 2014, we joined a hurling club over there. Just really random how I fell into it, but loved the sport. It was so much fun over there. There was one year where I was captain of a... So I made my picks on the team. The atmosphere that we created... It was Connor's, it was one of the original teams in the league, been there from the start. We had a saying that no matter who's on the field, who's there, you do your best. As long as we have fun. We were there to have fun. And winning is fun, so let's try to win. We just created a culture that no matter what the score was, no matter what was going on, we were going to go all out effort all the time, and not put anybody down and try to be uplifting. I think we created a pretty good team environment, team culture during it.

I like to think people enjoyed it. It was one of the better years they had. We lost the first round one year and won, we called, the loser cup, but we won a trophy one year. And then, the next year we lost in the final to a team much younger and faster than us. But, it was a fun two years-

Japhet De Oliveira: It was a good two years.

Heidar Thordarson: ... getting up there. The culture kind of carried over from the first year to the next, so I thought that was just... We had a great time.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. Creating a good culture actually lingers, right?

Heidar Thordarson: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: It really does. It makes a big difference. Good. Where next, then? Up or down?

Heidar Thordarson: How about 49?

Japhet De Oliveira: 49, all right. What are you currently learning about, and why?

Heidar Thordarson: My wife is the reader in the family. She’s asking, "What book are you reading?" I say, "Well, if a book is worth reading, they'll make a movie about it later, so I'll wait for the movie."

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh dear. OK.

Heidar Thordarson: That's terrible attitude.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know. I'm going to start praying for you more.

Heidar Thordarson: I'll go with this one. I'm trying to learn how to play golf.

Japhet De Oliveira: Are you really? OK.

Heidar Thordarson: It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time. A friend of mine here got me playing. I'm not very good. I've gone through phases where I was playing really well for a while. COVID hit, I didn't play for a couple months, everything fell apart. Then, get one thing back and then seven other things break. So, that's been a long process. I think I'm almost at a point where I can play in public. It's getting close. But, it's been fun to just go out. I try to walk when I can, get a little bit of exercise that way. Playing golf in Hawaii, it's beautiful scenery everywhere. It's a relaxing time. When you get that one good shot, it brings you back to the next round.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's really good.

Heidar Thordarson:bSo, that's been my...

Japhet De Oliveira: When you get that one good shot it does make a difference, doesn't it?

Heidar Thordarson: One good shot makes a difference.

Japhet De Oliveira: You want to get that again, and it's a game of patience.

Heidar Thordarson: Oh, man.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Heidar Thordarson: It's been an experience.

Japhet De Oliveira: It tests you.

Heidar Thordarson: It tests you a lot.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. That's great. All right, where next?

Heidar Thordarson: 75.

Japhet De Oliveira: 75, all right. Do you remember the first item you purchased with your own money, and if so, what was it and why did you buy it? That's a perfect question for a CFO.

Heidar Thordarson: That's a great question for a CFO. What did I buy first? It was probably candy in Iceland.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Heidar Thordarson: First major purchase that I had was a small car. I was in college at the time and needed to get back and forth, so I bought my first car. It was in 2006, so probably a 1993 or '95 Chevy Cavalier. Nothing fancy about it. You could open windows, had a moonroof and a stick shift.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow.

Heidar Thordarson: That was my criteria. It was a stick shift and that it ran.

Japhet De Oliveira: And that it ran, that would be useful.

Heidar Thordarson: My dad took me to some guy selling cars at the time, I'm sure. I walk in there knowing kind of what I was willing to pay, and my dad said, "OK, go and negotiate with him," and just sent me in there.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Heidar Thordarson: I was like, "I’m by myself." Ended up getting the car at a better price than I thought initially, so it worked out.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Heidar Thordarson: Had that car for, shoot, probably four or five years after I got it, so-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Heidar Thordarson: ... it treated me well. It was good.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's really good. See, it wasn't that difficult, it was great.

Heidar Thordarson: Not too bad, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, where next, then?

Heidar Thordarson: Let's go down as few spots, have we done 26 yet?

Japhet De Oliveira: Let's have a look here. No. Tell us about one thing that you love the most people do not.

Heidar Thordarson: That I love the most that people do not. The CNO here will laugh at this one, but I'll say Excel.

Japhet De Oliveira: Excel. That's great.

Heidar Thordarson: They keep making fun of me because I use it quite often in my work.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really? I've never been so surprised.

Heidar Thordarson: Yeah, I know. That's kind of a running joke between us, that he keeps making fun of me for using Excel. I make fun of him because he can't use it very well. But no, we have a good time. Something that I... I don't know. There's not a ton of things. Oh, we'll go food. I don't like pickles or celery, those are two things that I think a lot of people like that I just do not. I cannot eat it.

Japhet De Oliveira: And not celery?

Heidar Thordarson: It has some flavor to it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure.

Heidar Thordarson: Everybody says it is flavorless, but it is not flavorless.

Japhet De Oliveira: I'm pretty sure I had some last night.

Heidar Thordarson: There's something in it that just not...

Japhet De Oliveira: Have you tried it blindfolded? No, I'm kidding.

Heidar Thordarson: I've had another food and it stands out every time.

Japhet De Oliveira: It stands out, all right. A sensitivity to celery.

Heidar Thordarson: Sensitive to celery.

Japhet De Oliveira: The first I've ever heard. This is great. This is a momentous moment.

Heidar Thordarson: I met at least one other person who has that.

Japhet De Oliveira: Are you sure?

Heidar Thordarson: At least once. Couldn't tell you who they were, but I know it's happened.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, where next?

Heidar Thordarson: Let's go 81.

Japhet De Oliveira: 81, all right.

Heidar Thordarson: We'll jump back up.

Japhet De Oliveira: What is something you've given your absolute effort towards, and why was it important?

Heidar Thordarson: They are getting tougher up here. I'm a sports guy, so my best effort is always when I'm in sports. So, high school soccer I played... My junior, senior year in high school I was the forward for a small high school team in Indiana.

Japhet De Oliveira: Nice.

Heidar Thordarson: Ended up getting all-conference first team for those two years, which was a big goal of mine, so I made a lot of effort to get in there. My coach always told me I'm too slow to go past high school, but I could score against anybody so it was good for high school level. I always put myself into whatever sport I was playing, whether it was soccer in high school, hurling in Indiana, and then now I guess golf is my replacement for it. I find peace and joy on the field, or on the course, and so it's always been the place where-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's nice.

Heidar Thordarson: ... I can... Always enjoyed being out there. I'm competitive, so it's nice to have the competition. Always put everything I could on the field.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Peace and joy are not easy to discover always.

Heidar Thordarson: No, not at all. I found that early in high school. I hate running, so when I was playing soccer I was always the slowest without the ball and fastest with the ball. They made me run the three miles, like, "Oh, jeez, here we go again." But, that gave me kind of the quiet time to go, "Dear, God, please help me get through this." That turned to just reflection. That continued on. When everything's on a line and you just take a deep breath, you get that moment to clear your mind. And then, any time I'm on the field it's just fun. There's very rarely a bad day when I'm out there, I can feel it in a pass or a golf course now, where it's just... You can't have a bad day when you're out playing. So, I always enjoyed that.

Japhet De Oliveira: That is really good. All right, we have time, Heidar, for two. The last two. You can tell me the two numbers now, or you can choose one and let me know the other. It's up to you.

Heidar Thordarson: You know what? Let's stick with the... I think we had everything except for one in the 90s. I may regret this. How about we come back to 90 later, let's go with an easier one first. How about we go with a 57.

Japhet De Oliveira: 57, all right. If you had to endorse a brand, what would it be, and why?

Heidar Thordarson: Oh, I'm coming back to my sports theme here. Probably Adidas.

Japhet De Oliveira: Adidas.

Heidar Thordarson: It tends to be pretty good material, pretty good clothing. And it has a soccer tie to it. I've always been an Adidas fan.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. I am with you on that, I concur. All right, last one.

Heidar Thordarson: Last one.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Heidar Thordarson: Let's go 95.

Japhet De Oliveira: 95, all right. This is beautiful for you, tell us about how you see your faith and life intersecting.

Heidar Thordarson: Oh, good question again. Faith is something that has to be part of what you do all the time to really... When you try to separate faith from life, you have a chance of making it not authentic. And so to me, I see faith in the way that you treat people, the way you go out, the way you interact, the way people see you. Faith is something that really should come through and show through your interactions with people. I take the same way as with the mission with Adventist Health. Our mission statement is not one you just on the wall and you look at once a year. It's something that's really part of who we are.

Japhet De Oliveira: Has to be lived.

Heidar Thordarson: Not many places have that. It's not something that you have to have a meeting once a month to talk about the mission, it's part of every meeting. It's part of everything we do, everything that I do. When we get to that point where you look at a decision we make, "Well, how does that tie to the mission?" The mission is on the agenda first thing you look at, is kind of get your mind right. That's how you make it part of everything we do. I look at faith the same way. It's part of who I am. It's part of every interaction, everyday life. When I'm on the golf course, it's beautiful day, "Thank you, God, for letting me get out here."

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, true.

Heidar Thordarson: I think that's what makes it really special, it's that relationship that's constantly going, so that's how I try to tie the two together.

Japhet De Oliveira: I like that a lot. Heidar, I want to thank you for your time. Thank you for sharing so many stories, experiences that shaped you into the leader that you are today. I just want to encourage our listeners to do the same, to sit down, get a cup of tea, sit down with a friend, ask good questions, listen to each other, share, because I grow, you grow, we both grow through this experience. And I think we can actually make the world a better place through this. Heidar, thank you again. God bless. Till we have the next episode. Look after everybody else as well.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for The Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at AdventistHealth.org/Story. The Story & Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health.