Jul 31, 2024
In 1979, Gene Johnston, father of Bruce Johnson, purchased a 300-acre hunting lodge in Northern California to fulfill a promise he made to the Lord as a young man to invest the resources God provided in a manner that would have eternal value. JH Ranch opened in 1980 with a leadership program for high schoolers named Second Wind, which has subsequently been recognized as one of the most effective youth leadership programs in America. Bruce Johnston is the founder and executive director of JH Ranch and is responsible for developing the JH Ranch curriculum and the stewardship of the legacy of over 30 years positively impacting families.
Bruce joins me today to share the chance event that saw Gene Johnston, Bruce’s father, discover JH ranch and why Bruce accepted his invitation to do something meaningful with the property. He describes how they kept moving forward with their mission to turn the ranch into something that would help young people despite an inauspicious start to its first summer in business. Bruce also gives a little of the backstory on how he came up with the ‘4 Cs’ that inform his approach to creating leadership strategies for young people, why we need to be mindful of our children's personalities when planning how to support and guide them.
"I learned at an early age that money comes from hard work.” - Bruce Johnston
“Within the sacrifice of giving, God is developing us into the people he wants us to become.” - Bruce Johnston
“God tells me that my value comes from him and what he thinks about me and what he tells me is that he already loves me just like I am, not as I should be. “ - Bruce Johnston
This week on The Wow Factor:
- Bruce’s family life as the second oldest in the family and how being given ‘nothing’ inspired him to entrepreneurship in the first grade and has continued all his life
- Why his father told him he would be left a legacy rather than an inheritance so that his life was invested into something other than ourselves
- Why building a solid foundation is critical to achieving your goals
- How Bruce conceived of his vision for the Second Wind Leadership program
- What is Lakeside Chat? And how Bruce helps parents to understand how to effectively coach their children through their teenage years with specific goals in mind
- How the parent-child workshops came about and why the JH values remain so attractive to families in the twenty-first century
- The strategy Bruce used to help his son understand the growing up process and why the transition process for the parents from cop to coach is equally important
- The value statement that Bruce chose for his family and why they make that a pillar of their lives
- Why it is vital to have a shared goal and a shared challenge to forge lasting bonds
- His genius idea of the Outback Program and why he was so passionate about this community model of leadership for young people
- A walkthrough of the programs JH Ranch offers and how they progress as students grow up
- Why the ranch is adventure-based but content-driven and how that works in the rural setting and activities on the ranch
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