Hi Club friends, I had the privilege of hosting a longtime friend recently at Club Headquarters. I thought I would use this space this month to tell you about it.
Some people walk into your office and remind you who you’ve always wanted to be.
Recently I had the joy of hosting my longtime friend, leader and encourager, Nels Ortlund, an Officer with the Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena Airport Police. We grabbed this photo together as we caught up on life, leadership and the legacy of the man who first connected me to my mentor, Bud Bradford.
I’ve known Nels since I was 11. Back then, I was a kid trying to make sense of two worlds—my roots on a farm as a Mexican immigrant, and my dreams of someday becoming a leader who could make a difference. Nels was one of the first people who treated those dreams as possible, not cute. He listened. He asked questions. He took me seriously when I barely took myself seriously.
Bud, my mentor, often told me, “Stay close to people who stretch you without ever shrinking you.” That sentence fits Nels perfectly. He has spent his life serving and protecting others, leading in high-stakes environments, and doing the hard work when no one is watching. Yet when you sit with him, there is zero ego and 100 percent presence. He’s interested, not interesting. That’s rare.
Here are three simple leadership and personal-growth reminders that our visit brought back to me:
Be where your feet are.
Nels doesn’t multitask people. When he’s with you, you feel like the only person in the room. In a distracted world, focused presence is a competitive advantage and a profound act of respect.
Lead with scars, not a mask.
Our conversation, as always, went quickly beneath the surface—failures, doubts, lessons learned the hard way. Real leaders don’t pretend to be invincible; they show you how to walk with a limp and still move forward.
Legacy is local.
Titles change. Organizations change. Markets change. What lasts are the people whose lives are different because you showed up. Bud invested in Nels. Nels invested in me. Now I get to invest in our team and Members at the Employees Club. That is legacy in motion.
If you don’t have a Nels or a Bud in your life yet, here’s my encouragement:
- Seek them out: Look for people who live the way you’d be proud to live 20 years from now.
- Serve before you ask: Add value to them first—time, support, encouragement—without keeping score.
- Stay the course: The best relationships are not viral; they are built in quiet, consistent moments over decades.
Nels, thank you for making the trip to visit, for the decades of friendship, and for continuing the ripple effect of Bud’s influence. Our picture is more than a snapshot; it’s proof that investment in people outlives us.
To every leader and aspiring leader: Your greatest “strategy” may not be a new tool or framework—it might be the person you choose to learn from, and the people who get better because they know you.
¡Gracias por leer!