Turning The Page To A New Year – Points To Consider – with Brett Galaszewski – [Ep. 199]

Linda J. Hansen: Welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Prosperity 101® Breakroom Economics Podcast. My name is Linda J. Hansen, your host and the author of Prosperity 101® - Job Security Through Business Prosperity: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck, and the creator of the Breakroom Economics online course, the book, the course and the entire podcast library can be found on Prosperity101.com.

I seek to connect boardroom to break room and policy to paycheck by empowering and encouraging employers to educate employees about the public policy issues that affect their jobs. My goal is to help people understand the foundations of prosperity, the policies of prosperity, and how to protect their prosperity by becoming informed, involved, and impactful.

I believe this will lead to greater employee loyalty, engagement and retention, and to an increased awareness of the blessings and responsibilities of living in a free society. Listen each week to hear from exciting guests and be sure to visit Prosperity 101.com.

Thank you so much for joining with me today. And I'd like to just add a reminder, if you appreciate these podcasts and you'd like to help them stay on the air, please consider becoming a Prosperity Partner. Go to the Prosperity Partner link on our website, Prosperity101.com and share whatever you can afford to help keep these podcasts on the air.

And if you'd be interested in being a larger sponsor, please contact me through that website. And I'd love to talk to you and help promote your business as we promote freedom for all citizens. So, again, welcome. Twenty-twenty four, a new year, no matter who you listen to 2024 is destined to be a year full of challenges for our country and for all freedom loving citizens.

Whether you are an employer, employee, student or parent, the changes happening in America affect you every single day. Maybe you are like me and are sick of partisan labels that don't tell the whole truth about a person's worldview or beliefs. The Uniparty seems to reign. People who simply want the Constitution protected, elections to be free and fair, life to be valued, borders to be enforced. And for the government to not spend more than it has, a radical concept I know, are called extremists, and the charade continues.

How can we combat this? I believe raising up a new generation of bold leaders is what is needed in America. And that is why I am featuring this guest for the third time on my podcast.

Brett Galaszewski is a young, energetic visionary. He is a bold, wise leader for his generation. And he is now the Enterprise Director at Turning Point Action. I know you'll look forward to hearing more about that. So, welcome, Brett. Thank you for returning to the podcast.

Brett Galaszewski: Hi, Linda. As always, it is so great to be on here again with you. Thank you so much for having me.

Linda J. Hansen:  Well, it's always great. And you are a good friend and I have loved watching your career develop and you've just grown into new roles consistently. The last time you were on, tell us about the role you had then.

Brett Galaszewski: So, the last time I was on, which I think was around six months ago or so, I was the Midwest Regional Manager for Turning Point Action, and I oversaw our field operations and some of our major swing states here in the Midwest, like Wisconsin and Iowa.

As of last week, I stepped into my new role at Turning Point Action, I am now the Enterprise Director of the Legacy Field Program. So, now I get to oversee the entire field program in coordination with our new Chase The Vote Program, that we're going to be launching in some major swing states as well, specifically here in Wisconsin.

And we can get into the new office that we're opening up and our new door-to-door techniques that we're going to be out there enforcing. So, this came at the perfect time because now we're pivoting to our election-year work. And so, really excited. For those that aren't familiar or who haven't heard the previous episodes that I've been on, Turning Point Action is a conservative organization fighting the grassroots fight.

For those that are familiar with Turning Point USA, you know, that it's a youth-based organization fighting the culture war on college campuses and in high school hallways nationwide. Turning Point Action takes that one step further. We take that Turning Point brand and name, and we use it in the conservative grassroots to get more activists involved and activate that next generation of freedom fighters.

They're going to fight for those principles that you, Linda, talked about at the top of this podcast. So, really excited to be launching, one, spearheading our Wisconsin effort, but two, taking on this new role, where I get to now have the opportunity to oversee the entire Legacy Field Program.

Linda J. Hansen: Well, when I heard about your promotion, your new role, I called you right away and said, “I couldn't think of a better person,” as I've gotten to know you over the last couple of years. I've seen your heart. I've seen your dedication. I've seen your skill sets.

And I'm not exaggerating when I say I think you are the perfect person for the job and you really love working with people young and old. And so, I want to help listeners know to that Turning Point is not just for young people. It's a youth-based organization. But if you like me, are over 35, you know, you still can play a role with Turning Point.

There's so much you can do. And I know Turning Point just had a great conference right before Christmas, and there were thousands. How many people were there? Like 15,000 people?

Brett Galaszewski: Isn't it crazy?

Linda J. Hansen: It's crazy all over the country and they were all ages. So, we're talking young and old, everybody learning how to protect the values and freedoms that I mentioned at the top of this podcast.

And for those of you who may be listening and may think, “Oh, for Pete's sakes, another conservative, blah, blah, blah.” You know, what is a conservative? I just mentioned at the top of the podcast. A conservative is someone who cares about freedom, who simply wants the Constitution protected, wants elections to be free and fair, wants life to be valued, wants our borders to be enforced and protected.

And just like we have to do in our personal finances, we want the government to manage our money in a way that it doesn't spend more than it takes in. We just want the basics of freedom that have made America great for all these years. And now those things are all at risk if we don't step up and become a voice.

So, you know, even the labels of conservative versus liberal, all that, it's not. It's tyranny versus freedom. So, let's just put all labels aside and say, “What are we standing for? We're standing for individual freedom, for corporate freedom, for businesses to be free, to make a profit, to create more jobs, to hire more people. And we're just looking for freedom.”

Brett Galaszewski: Yeah. Well, in a lot of cases, Linda, it's no longer right versus left. Good versus evil. It really has come down to that. And in a state like Wisconsin, that's going to decide the fate of the nation, I think it's more important now more than ever that more activists who do care about those principles that you'd mentioned get involved and do something about it.

I mean, we all know those people in our lives that talk the talk, right? The keyboard warriors of the world. They'll go online and complain that their freedoms are being stripped right in front of them, but they won't go out and knock doors. They won't do anything to actually advance their conservative values and principles.

We want those people that are willing to step up and that's why we're so excited to be going through this, you know, this year. This will be my third election cycle now with Turning Point Action getting the opportunity to activate that next wave.

Linda J. Hansen: That's very exciting. And I think this point in history, it's like you said, people are understanding. It really is a battle between good and evil.

You know, I just reposted to my Instagram Stories that Joe Rogan had posted something that Paul Harvey had broadcast many, many, many years ago. And it was if I were the devil, and Paul Harvey outlined points. You know, if I were the devil, I would do this and that. And I really encourage people to listen to that.

To Joe Rogan's Instagram or whatever, or just Google, you know, Paul Harvey, if I were the devil, and you'll hear it and you will be astounded at how prophetic his words were in terms of how to destroy America. And they have systematically gone through and just destroyed so much of our country culture, so much of the truth and things of that made America great.

And so, we're looking to combat that without all the labels. And, of course, we do have to vote. Like you were talking about chase the vote. You were talking about, you know, getting grassroots activists out there. Obviously, there's elections, so we have to make choices.

We can't just say, “Oh, we just want policies.” Well, there's people who support those policies. So, it's helping people understand the best choices. And sometimes, you know, we'll never find a perfect candidate. There will always be something that we don't like about some candidate, even if we ran ourselves. So, we have to be able to look and say, “What are the policies that are most important to me? What am I going to do to defend them? How will I educate others about them?” And let's go.

You know, let's make a difference and make sure we don't end up in the same or worse place, you know, a year from now than we are now. So, tell us what you are doing to help grassroots activists be educated about these things and helping them to be activated.

Brett Galaszewski: Well, so we're really excited. So, this week I picked up the keys to our very first Turning Point Action satellite office that we're going to be opening in Waukesha, Wisconsin, which is an area of the state, really an area of the country that national pundits have dismissed. But we've identified as a top five area to saving our country and preserving those freedoms.

So, at this office, this is where we're going to be training. This is where we're going to be cleaning voter rolls. This is where we're going to be activating our big wave of grassroots activists that are going to be going out and relationally organizing in some of Waukesha County, Milwaukee County, Ozaukee County, Washington County's most critical precincts to winning back our country.

And so, you had mentioned America fast before this. You know, we're finding out that yes, the young, but also the young at heart, you know, as I like to say, are now drawn to that Turning Point brand and name, and they want to get involved.

And so, we're excited to be bringing in activists of all walks of life, all ages, all backgrounds into this office, into this space. This is going to be a massive office for us, kind of our home base, where we're going to be able to teach them the tools necessary to become solid activists.

We're changing the grassroots landscape. The traditional campaign apparatus, and we can get into this just a little bit more, is very transactional. It's different. It's the same stagnant way that campaigns have tackled grassroots organizing for a long time.

And when you are complacent, you lose. And right now the freedom fighters, you know, ones who agree with a lot of the principles that we all talk about, and that gets these listeners to listen to this podcast are losing. And so, something needs to change and organizations like Turning Point Action are bringing that persistent innovation to the grassroots movement. And I can't think of a better way to start things off on the right foot than having this office.

Linda J. Hansen: Well, that is exciting. And as you mentioned at the beginning of the broadcast, you're not just in charge of Wisconsin or even just this office, but you now have a role that is national.

So, listeners, wherever you might be, wherever you're listening, if you'd like to get involved with Turning Point Action, you'd like to be part of this relational grassroots activism, you'd like to use your skills and abilities, or maybe you're past the point of being able to even leave your home because maybe you have health issues or you're caring for elderly relatives or something like that, but there's always something you can do.

So, don't be afraid to get in touch because there's always something you can do right from where you are. And if you have means, it's great if you can support the work. Just like I asked for help with becoming a Prosperity Partner for this podcast and for what I do with Prosperity 101®, because nothing can happen without the resources to support it, Turning Point Action needs resources to support it.

And so, we're just really grateful that people have stepped up, that Turning Point has grown so much. And I think there is a thirst for organizations like Turning Point that really take the labels off, in a sense. They take that partisan label off. And there's people from all walks of life, all ages, and we see just a cohesiveness around the policy issues that made this country great.

I mean, there's a saying I love, “It's in essentials unity, in non-essentials charity.” And we have to unite as people who love America, who love freedom, and we have to unite around the essentials that bring unity. And the non-essentials, when we can disagree about certain things and things, and, you know, we may not always agree on candidates. We may not always agree on fine points of policy, but we have got to be solid and united on the basics of the Constitution and making sure we preserve that for America.

Because if America falls, we, the world falls. And, you know, Ben Bergquam. I just want to put a plug in people. Take a look. Go to Ben Bergquam’s Instagram or go to Real America's Voice and you can, like he did an interview with one of the immigrants coming from, I believe, Iran. And this Iranian immigrant was talking so concerned. He was so concerned about the future of America based on the terrorists coming over our border.

So, this is just one thing. This is just one area where we see America at risk, and the world sees it. So, you know, for everybody listening, it may seem like Turning Point Action is just, you know, another organization, or we're here just talking another talk, but actually, no.

Every action matters. Every time you talk to a neighbor, every time you talk to a family member, every time you send five dollars, every time you write to your legislator, you are making a difference. So, it's going to take that grassroots activism, that grassroots swell of understanding and activation that's really going to help preserve this country.

Brett Galaszewski: I think that's really well said. I mean, I'll often tell people if not you, then who, and if not now, then when? And there's a job for everybody in the conservative movement to help out this effort. And I think that this is a good segue to our new Turning Point Action app that we've now launched, which is a one-stop shop for any freedom-fighting activists that would like to get involved.

If you'd like to knock doors, if you'd like to make phone calls, if you'd like to write postcards, right? Those three things, there's, that's something for everyone of all walks of life and all situations to be able to tackle. And if you want to do them in places like Florida, places like North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, that, you know, it goes on and on.

We have that opportunity for you to do it. So, go into the Appstore and type in TP Action, download it, be kept in the loop of things that we have going on. And then there's a really cool feature. And this is that relational organizing aspect that I had alluded to earlier, where you can, wherever you are, load up the app and it'll give you 15 houses that you can go hit and relationally organized with.

Become the CEO of your neighborhood for the freedom-fighting effort. Oftentimes in a relational organizing model, that first conversation doesn't start out on a political note. And if you're trying to, in this case, you know, get as many people to get out and vote.

Sometimes from an authenticity standpoint, it goes a lot farther. If it's from somebody who lives down your block and has built a relationship with you. Someone who's a connector, let's just say you had an issue and you need to get put in touch with your HOA, or you're looking for some conservative hairdressers and that person puts you in touch with someone who's looked at as the civic king or queen of their precinct, it's going to go way farther and getting that person to commit to going to the polls, especially those low propensity freedom fighting votes. And there's a lot of them. Believe me, Linda, a lot of votes being left on the table in Waukesha County. So, that's another reason why we're so excited.

Linda J. Hansen: Exactly. Well, there's a lot of votes being left on the table all over the country. And for those of you who've been too discouraged to vote, or too discouraged to stay engaged, I really want to ask you, “Are you willing to do nothing at this time when your country needs you?” Your country needs you. The next generation needs you.

We all need to be in this together. There's so many things that are important for our culture to retain in terms of our constitutional freedoms. And if we don't step up, who will? We cannot let it go. And so, when you put your head on the pillow at night, listener, ask yourself, “Did I do something today to help my country? Did I do something today to make sure freedom could be available to my children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, the next generation?” We cannot let this year pass without all of us going to the mat to protect our freedom.

Brett Galaszewski: Yeah.  So, one of my all-time favorite quotes is a Teddy Roosevelt quote. It's the most important single ingredient in the formula of success, is knowing how to get along with people.

And so, you know, maybe this isn't some foreign concept that Turning Point Action is teaching activists. Maybe this is something that all of us have all along. And that's just, you know, being a good neighbor, you know, having a personality at the door. It's political sales at its finest.

And so, you know, in a lot of key areas of the country, we're going to be teaching that new technique in hopes that we ditch the traditional transactional model of the campaign your culture, as we know it, right? That's very rushed sometimes. And, you know, we've all been in that situation. Some random stranger is standing at our door, shoving a piece of literature in your face and saying, “Vote for this person.”

Whoa, I don't know you. But if that person is someone you've built a relationship with who, you know, lives down the block, who's baked cookies for you, you know, and then that person goes, “Well, you know, Hey, there's an election next Tuesday. Do you plan to vote? You haven't voted yet. Oh my gosh. Like, let me get you to the polls or, oh, you need help filing your absentee ballot? Great. Let me go ahead and help you with that. We can walk out to the mailbox together.”

And then, and you had mentioned the election integrity front, when it comes time to getting affidavits from people who experienced voter abuse, somebody going and getting that affidavit, it's going to be way more effective if you know that person and you have a prior relationship with them before the election, versus right now, the typical campaign apparatus just spitting out a bunch of activists, who might not even be from that area saying, “I understand that you were at the polls and something may have happened. Can you sign this?”

Whoa, we want to change the grassroots landscape as we know it. So, I think all of that ties into, you know, what you were saying. And I tell people all the time, you know, Linda, you're just someone who gets it. And political energy is contagious. We want to be able to spread that on others.

Linda J. Hansen: Well, it's true that that political energy is contagious. And I recently went around my neighborhood sharing nomination papers for someone that I wanted to run for office here locally.

And it was a busy holiday weekend and things. And I just thought, well, I have a few hours, I'll go do this. And I had found a lot of these neighbors and I kind of knew, some of them I hadn't met yet.

But they were referred by a different neighbor and said, “Oh, they'll want to meet you. Or, you know, they'll want to know about this.” And so, but a lot of them, I just got to know because I walk and run all over my neighborhood. And over the years, I've gotten to know people.

I've talked to them about their dogs. I talk to them about their kids in strollers. You know, it's just the most natural thing for me. Not for everyone, but it can be. You're just friendly. And I was amazed. So, many people said, “If you said this person is good, I believe you.” I was like, “Oh my gosh, they trust me.” And I take that trust with such gratefulness and sense of responsibility.

I do not want to take them someone that I don't feel could be serving in their best interest. And that's something important. We have to gain trust and we do that by being relational with people. I shared an instance with you recently and you said, “Oh, I want to share that. I want to share that.”

So, this is just a simple way to open up a conversation, too. I was actually looking at a house that was for sale and the real estate agent was there, and we just got talking about appliances. And I said something about how much I appreciated that it was a gas stove. And I just said that no matter what house I live in, I want a gas stove, no matter what Joe Biden says.

And it just opened up a huge conversation. I now know where that person stands politically. I now know, I mean, he opened up so much about his company and the people who run the company and what their political stance is. I mean, it opened up a whole new relationship just because I just went out of my comfort zone a little bit and just said that.

So, you know, just think when you're in conversations, listeners, just think, “What could I say that might open the door, so I can find out where this person is, and if they actually understand the issues or not?” And if they don't, you know, we help them get to, you know, the next level.

We don't ram it down their throats. We don't inundate them with so much information. They run when we come. We just drip it in with love and authenticity, and just a real desire to make sure we're offering them information that is helpful to them.

Brett Galaszewski: That's amazing, Linda. And I'm so happy that we're talking about this because I want to make it clear to the listeners that this is going to be the new way to win.

Imagine if we had a million Linda Hansens in the movement doing just what you had described, building relationships and starting out conversations, maybe not with a political conversation, but, you know, allowing that relationship to build to the point where, you know, anytime that it comes down to an election, it's not out of left field that you're walking up to this person asking them for your support of a candidate that you trust and that you know is somebody that's going to fight for freedom, values, and those principles that you know that person also stands with.

We want to be able to activate that brand of grassroots activism going forward. So, thank you so much for bringing that story up and I know there's probably listeners out there that have been doing this all along without even realizing that they were relationally organizing.

So, now we can do this with a purpose and we can have our friends do it. We can have our family do it. We can have our neighbors do it. If you have friends and family in your lives that are just as passionate as you are, right? And are just as friendly and are just as impactful with your words, you know, like you and they're not involved, they don't listen to this podcast, they don't know that there are opportunities to get involved in the grassroots movement via the TP Action app or, you know, via what their political party, get them involved, right?

We want that next generation of relational organizers to get involved at the grassroots level. Let's ditch the traditional dork-knocking. I have a colleague that calls it that and let's relationally organize.

Linda J. Hansen: That is great. So one last thing, one last question for you is what would you say to employers? Employers who want to not only help their employees understand about issues, but who want to just to open the door to these conversations so that their employees understand and they can get engaged.

Brett Galaszewski: Yeah. I mean, I think it starts with just letting them understand that these decisions that are being made by candidates are affecting their daily lives, probably way more.

Any decision right now being made at the local level is going to affect a business way more than any decision being made at the White House level. You know, to the point where I'd say the most important position in politics is not in the White House, it's in your neighborhood. It's that local-level candidate that's going to fight for your freedom-promoting business.

And so, the more that you can make that message clear to employers that there are candidates out there that promote prosperity in the workplace and their personal lives all over, you know, I think that that can go a long way in a critical swing state like Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania.

And that could be the difference maker, especially in some of these counties where, you know, freedom-fighting candidates are still winning, but maybe not by as much as they used to, areas that were used to racking the score up in. You know, Waukesha County, I think is a prime example of that where, yes, we're still winning, but it's by two or three points less.

And this isn't a big deal when it's one or two counties. But when it's 10 or 12 counties, you know, this is where we're losing ground. And I think opening up those conversations in the workplace, relationally organizing in the workplace, could chip away at that. And it can happen in such an organic way that you might not even realize it's campaigning.

Prosperity 101®, Linda, you know, the group that you've piloted here and really taken new levels is a prime example of that. And I commend you for the work that you're doing. It's just outstanding. I'm so thrilled to be part of this podcast and have you as a friend and mentor and showing the grassroots, the new way to integrate politics and the workplace.

Linda J. Hansen: Thank you so much for mentioning Prosperity 101®, because honestly, you know, I feel like the Left has taken over the workplace, just like they've taken over several other areas of our culture, you know, the mountains of culture.

And so, we can take it back. Whether you're, you know, a flag carrying, you know, bumper sticker-type conservative, or whether you're just a quiet, more introverted person who kind of holds your beliefs, you know, close to your chest, whatever, you can still do something.

And for employers, and if you're an employee and would like to see this in your workplace, recommend it to your employer. But I have an online course. It's so simple for the employees to learn the basics, basic economics, basic civics that help them become an informed, involved, and impactful citizen.

And it's really a step that every employer can take. Employers do not swallow all the leftist stuff that comes down and all these demands that are for different things in the workplace and your HR programs and things. No, you can offer an alternative. You can offer something that's simple and easy and aligns with the values we've been discussing.

So, visit the website, Prosperity101.com and get the course for your employees. It's a great tool, and it will make them even more aware and more sharp so that they will want to get involved, say, with TP Action. They'll want to do relational grassroots. They'll want to do this because it's just another level of understanding.

So, Brett, thank you so much for being with this podcast today, being my guest again. And I thank you for your vision, energy, and commitment that you bring to the freedom movement. Thank you so much. How can people contact you?

Brett Galaszewski: Well, first of all, thank you so much for the kind words. That was really heartwarming to hear. And I want to make it known to listeners that I work all over the country. And I can tell you that there is no organization doing the work that you're doing with Prosperity 101®. There is no resources for employers and employees right now that's anything close to this. So, it is an honor for me to come on this podcast now for the third time and be able to talk about, you know, the grassroots effort with you, Linda.

Turning Point Action is going to be really ramping it up with the amount of activists that we want to bring into our circle. Tpaction.com/getinvolved is the place where you can go no matter what state you're in. Find out different ways to get involved. Figure out what you think the best fit from a grassroots perspective is for you to get into the fight and then sign up with us.

And one of our team members from any swing state that you're in, or really any area of the country, will reach out to you with those options that I had even talked about earlier, the TP Action app, writing postcards, knocking doors, making phone calls. We'd love to have everybody part of this this year, because it truly isn't all hands on deck effort.

Linda J. Hansen: Perfect. So, Tpaction.com/getinvolved. So, listeners, please go there and pick one thing. You don't have to do it all. Just pick one thing that fits your lifestyle, fits your passion, the interests that you have, and you can make a difference. So, thank you, Brett. I look forward to having you back again, and I appreciate the time you've taken. Thank you.

Brett Galaszewski: Thanks so much, Linda.

Linda J. Hansen: Thank you again for listening to the Prosperity 101® Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share, and leave a great review. Don't forget to visit Prosperity101.com to access the entire podcast library, to order my newest book, Job Security Through Business Prosperity: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck or to enroll you or your employees in the Breakroom Economics online course.

You can also receive the free e-book, 10 Tips for Helping Employees Understand How Public Policy Affects Their Paychecks. Freedom is never free. Understanding the foundations of prosperity and the policies of prosperity will help you to protect prosperity as you become informed, involved, and impactful. Please contact us today at Prosperity101.com to let us know how we can serve you. Thank you.