Recapping My First Ever Trip To Japan & Why It Is The BEST Country I Have Ever Visited

Jon Murray Talks Changing The Hospitality Industry, People Over Profit Motto & Why Hardships Are So Important

This week on Make It To Midnight we sit down with one of the top restaurant owners in the COUNTRY. Jon Murray started as a dishwasher in AppleBees and then became one of the top employees at Indigo Road Hospitality group before taking a leap of faith and starting Noko Nashville and Kase-Noko. Jon's restaurant's are less than three years old but have already received nationwide awards including OpenTable's Top 100 restaurants. The reason I wanted to talk and learn from Jon is because I have never seen a restaurant and its staff treat people so well. However, after talking to Jon I understand it. He treats his employees better than most business owners in general and in return they treat the customers the same way. It's unique leadership that has roots in adversity, risk-taking, and faith leaning moments which ends up creating incredible fruits. I hope you guys enjoy this episode and I hope you keep on making it to midnight! 0:00 Intro 4:00 Origin of doing things differently 7:40 Travel Fund for employees 9:30 Lessons from traveling 10:30 Leaving stability for building Noko 13:40 How a DUI changed everything 15:35 Losing his dad at 16-years-old 18:30 Taking pride in his work 25:50 The feeling of never being enough 30:00 Creating Kase x Noko 34:30 Jon's unique hiring process 42:00 Biggest influences 55:00 Make It To Midnight Lessons

Connor Shaw Talks Near-Death Experience W/ Cardiac Arrest, Life Lessons & Favorite Gamecock Memories

In this weeks episode of Make It To Midnight we welcome former NFL and South Carolina Gamecock quarterback Connor Shaw to the show! This past August, Shaw suffered sudden cardiac arrest at his son’s flag football game and with the strength and guidance of the Lord and people placed on the field that day, he was able to survive. We cover everything in this conversation: 0:00 Intro 2:30 Cardiac Arrest incident 14:00 Lessons from his father 17:00 Lessons from Steve Spurrier 23:00 DJ Swearinger Weight Room Story 28:00 Highs and lows of the NFL 33:00 Necessary Identity Transition out of football 40:00 Ernest Jones leadership 46:15 Favorite plays in his gamecock career 53:00 Connor’s Make It To Midnight Moments I hope you guys felt encouraged and inspired from this episode to lift your heads in whatever valley you may be in right now or motivated to help someone else who may be in a valley right now.  Share this episode w/ someone who needs it and be sure to follow Connor on all social media platforms to continue to learn from him and to keep up w/ his journey as he continues to inspire others on a daily basis and to support his mission in making AEDs more accessible at public parks! Thanks for being here and I hope you keep on making it to midnight!

What I Learned From "Love On The Spectrum"

Love On The Spectrum is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. There are so many life lessons to learn from these amazing individuals and I hope this episode encourages you to watch it the next time you turn on Netflix. Share this episode with a friend you think would love Love On The Spectrum! 0:00 10 Lessons from a mother of daughter w/ special needs 9:00 Love On The Spectrum's life lessons

Understanding The Courtroom Of The Mind

I was moved by the sermon I heard from Randy Draughon, one of the pastors at our church. It was all about "The Courtroom of the Mind" and how the fear and anxiety come from the judgement you pass on yourself of if you are enough or if you are not. This is one of my biggest struggles and one of the biggest struggles of the world. If you follow and chase the world you will never have enough and you will never be enough. There will be an everlasting feeling of hunger for more. Life is not found in more, life is found in enough. Jesus paid the price, we just have a hard time fathoming someone else could pick up the bill for us. I hope this episode encourages you and reminds you that you are enough, and I hope you keep making it to midnight! Listen to Randy's message here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1FzPova0EqxbeLgTx0DMml?si=m-wvcMkTSlq8u5c1k6LkYw

Recapping My First Ever Trip To Japan & Why It Is The BEST Country I Have Ever Visited

A few weeks ago I visited the #1 country on my bucket list; Japan. For those who don't know me, I worked at IMG Academy in 2019 and that is where I fell in love with the Japanese culture. They are the most disciplined, respectful, humble culture that exists in this world. During this trip we visited Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka where I was able to see my former students/friends. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Japan, jump on it because it will change your life.