At the age of twelve, Bryan Brenner’s life turned upside down. Suddenly, his parents got divorced, the family filed for bankruptcy, and Bryan's father told him he had to be the man of the house.  For Bryan, it was a lesson in how impactful words can be in a negative way, as that sentence filled him with a sense of responsibility that he had no way of fulfilling. Still, Bryan believes some positive things came out of feeling like he needed to grow up fast, like starting a business early on and greater awareness of how he communicates with his family.  In this episode, Bryan talks about the need to be thoughtful about our own words and how we absorb the worlds of others. In This Episode:  [02:24] This/That with Bryan [04:12] Admitting when you’re wrong [06:43] Lessons learned growing up on a farm [07:45] What got Bryan into employee benefits [09:30] The importance of self-awareness and leading yourself [11:05] “What do I want my influence to be?” [13:34] Learning from past mistakes [16:04] The wrong words at the wrong time [22:02] “You can do anything you put your mind to.” [23:17] How Bryan’s parents shaped him as a parent [26:28] Words matter Quotes From This Episode:  “The more self-aware we are, the more vulnerable we can be, the more genuine we are, the better the outcomes.” “If a human being feels known for who they truly are and they feel loved in that, they can do just about anything and work through just about anything.” “Be careful with how you absorb other people’s words because often they don’t know how they might impact you and you have to be responsible for that yourself.”