6/19/24 - 2047: A New Type of Legacy

Jim: You've tuned into iWork4Him, the Voice of Collaboration for the Faith and Work Movement.

Martha: And we are your host, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. Our mission is to transform the workplace of every Christian into a mission field. What does that look like in your workplace? Let's find out right now.

Jim: When you retire is it just 30 years of vacation? Do you just to get to just up and check out for the rest of your life? Or is there more? On our iRetire4Him podcast we say when you retire your calling doesn't retire. If you have a pulse you have a purpose. If you're not dead you're not done.

There are 50 million christian retirees out there who have been lied to. They've been told that the american dream of retirement is biblical. Wrong! Retirement is just another phase of life where God gets a chance to continue to invest himself in you so that you can make an impact on the world around you for him. Sandy Wheeler is one of those retirees who figured out the lie and is living his life to his fullest in his retirement. After leading companies like Nautilus, Bowflex, and Schwinn Fitness, Sandy could have easily coasted down the highway of retirement. But no, he's developed a new company that really is a biznistry that all of us can utilize. Sandy Wheeler is here to tell us the rest of that story. Sandy, thanks for being on iWork4Him today.

Sandy Wheeler: Thank you. I appreciate it greatly.

Jim: Sandy, before we get talking about this biznistry that you're launching, what is your Jesus story?

Sandy Wheeler: Mine came after Vietnam. I was raised in the Lutheran church, but literally this didn't relate and had never asked Jesus in my heart. So took off to Vietnam to do a little vacationing over there. And fortunately I survived and ended up meeting my wife in college, which is not unusual. And Diana became a Christian before me, about a year before. I was busy playing softball and drinking beer. I thought it was great. She went to church and I'd go play softball tournaments.

But then one day she asked me to go. The church she attended had a phenomenal youth choir and I went and the first time I didn't really like it because the pastor said, all those that love Jesus, please stand up. And my buddy and I were the only two sitting, I think, in the entire place. And then the next time she invited me, it was like, I don't even remember going down front and asked Jesus to come into my life. And it was starting of a journey that, now that I'm older, I appreciate it way more than I did when I was young.

Jim: I love that, that the Lord rescued you. Like you said, preserved your life in Vietnam. Many guys didn't get to come home. And we're going to hear the rest of that story today. But go ahead.

Martha: Sandy, you have lived a very storied life in business. Was your faith then always front and center as you led the different companies?

Sandy Wheeler: You mean after, out of desperation? Or just truly that kind of thing? Cause I look back and I go, people always thought Bowflex was an overnight success. And I go where were you during the 10 years I was building it? I spent many a night out in a pasture with my horses praying. Literally, I was the only Christian in the group. I'd raised all the money. The thing wasn't, I hadn't figured it out. So it wasn't that my brains could get there. And I look back on those days and they were so precious because God truly intervened, truly gave me wisdom in areas I had zero expertise in.

Jim: But isn't it always true though, Sandy, that those overnight successes are often 10 years in the making?

Sandy Wheeler: For me, it definitely is. So I think some of these others, they can have overnights, but for me, it truly was 10 years of working and I even thought about the amount of money I raised which was around 4 million at that time. And this is back in the eighties and nineties. So that was real dollars. And we came within 25, 000 of not making it. So

Jim: Oh

Sandy Wheeler: that's phenomenal.

Jim: All right. So you got a chance, you have this opportunity to look backwards on quite a few years. What would you tell your younger you today based on all that you know about life and running businesses? If you could tell your younger you, that's a Mercy Me reference. Mercy Me has that song, Dear Younger Me. What would you tell your younger you?

Sandy Wheeler: Oh man, to seek after God with all my heart way earlier in my life. Mine, probably not unlike others, was, I would say, a rocky road when I look back. I used Jesus as a convenient Jesus, and not as really my Lord and Savior and guidance in everything I do. That's where, as we get older, we're hoping to pick up wisdom, right? And that wisdom comes from God. There's no question, if I could go back which I can't, I would have hungered and thirst for His righteousness way earlier in my life.

Martha: Those are some powerful words. And yes, we can't go back, but we hope that what we have learned can help someone else. And that's, I think the key nugget of that question is so that listeners can hear what you would tell yourself and you're telling that to them.

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Jim: Sandy, God's laid a new vision on your heart for another business. It's actually what I would call a biznistry. Where did the idea come from?

Sandy Wheeler: I can truly look back - I mean it came to me over the last few years in reality. You know how you can go back in life and realize that even when you weren't serving God, he had his hand on you?

And for me, it started the day I left Vietnam, I spent 18 months in Vietnam, top secret clearance, dealing with just intense operations. And the very day I left, which was April 5th, 1970, I had a long flight home and I had arrived on April 7th only to discover that my best friend from high school was killed on April 5th.

The part that was most devastating to me was that he had a wife and he had an unborn little boy who would never hear his daddy say, I love you, nor touch him. And it truly threw my life sideways. I told you, I didn't know God, but I sure knew how to curse him and be mad at him, though none of that was his issue.

And that little boy would go on to carry that hate towards God and just tore me up inside. And as a result, you learn in life that time comes. And for me, that time was really a planting of a seed that I can undoubtedly look back and say, that was the day.

Jim: Let's talk about it. What is the heart behind your new vision? What are you calling it?

Sandy Wheeler: It's called Life's Thoughts. And it deals with Life's Final Thoughts and Life's Thoughts. And it really addresses, it's a precursor to two words that we're familiar with, bereavement and grief. Every one of us that's born will be subject to bereavement and grief and most of us multiple times because that happens every time we lose someone who's really close to us, and especially let's talk about family, right? That's a deal.

And then I go back, because Martha was mentioning God in history and what happens to us, and I think about Deuteronomy 4:9. And in that passage, God says to the children of Israel that he just brought out of Egypt, he said, make sure you don't forget these days, what your eyes saw and what happened. And make sure you tell your children and your grandchildren. And to me, that is such an important point that he brought, because our children and our grandchildren, as long as we don't lie to them in life, they are most likely to trust our word. So just like how Jesus gave us the Bible, and that we have to believe that he was real, and that the Bible was the word of God it's the same way with my Children and grandchildren.

So I have five Children, 12 grandchildren, three great grandchildren. So when I tell them something, as long as I haven't violated that confidence, they will believe me. And that's my heart with this is that we're a precursor because everyone, 100 percent of us will face bereavement and grief. And this is a precursor because it can definitely have a positive impact to lessening the period in which the bereavement takes place and the levels of grief in which a person will experience.

And I don't know about you guys, but for my children and grandchildren, I want to help them out the very best I can. And one of the biggest things for me is bringing home and pounding home that part. Don't ever let Jesus escape from your life. Because we run a race and it's really the final lap in which that is most important of the race that we're running.

Martha: So Sandy, you've set this up so beautifully, but you haven't actually told us what it does. So give us this understanding of what Life's Thoughts and Life's Final Thoughts, what it actually is and how it's being accomplished.

Sandy Wheeler: Yes, thanks for pinpointing me on that. Yeah, it deals with archival video recordings. So what I have done is I have made video recordings for my wife, my children, and my grandchildren that go to them at various times in life, and it's just special messages. I start all my video messages with a picture and I show them the picture of a memorable event. And that's the first thing I talk about in it is how much I enjoyed and was given the opportunity to share that time with them.

And then after I tell that story of relationship and memory, because they'll instantly come back and remember that. Then that's when I remind them at the end that the most important relationship in the entire world is Jesus. And I hope to see him one day in heaven. So you make these video recordings, they go into an archival vault. And at the appropriate time that you have selected, into the future, they will be sent to them and they'll have that video appear on their email. So for example, Life's Final Thoughts, every one of the videos I prepare in that particular platform, they'll all release on the day I die.

So we all know that there's a time to be born. And a time to die. And that's not to be morbid. That is how God created this earth. So the idea is to soften that bereavement and that grief by the fact that the very day, or maybe it's two days after I die, here this video is setting for them with a very specific message to each of them. And then Life's Thoughts to be real quick on that has either events into the future or various states in which it can be released.

And my example is I have created a video message for every one of my grandchildren's weddings, even though my chance of being around, especially for the younger ones, it's not very good, but I already know today what I would say. We've been to enough weddings. So again, I start with a story about them and tell them how much I love them and how great it was to be involved.

So that point is to say, grandparents, if you're not involved in your grandkids life, you might want to start and today would be a good day because the recounting of the story is vital to the aspect.

Jim: What I love about this is it this is an unusual topic, you know for iWork4Him because this is a business but it's about legacy and every one of us wants to leave a legacy that's positive. But yet, Sandy, so many of us live lives that don't leave much legacy. We leave assets, but we don't leave legacy. And you're giving people an opportunity to leave a legacy that's digitally preserved for the future, which today is super easy and positive.

When I was preparing for the show and when you and I first talked, Martha's parents had the wisdom to do something like this, actually recorded six or seven hours that are on DVD, which for those of you young people, that's a circular disc that you can store information on. But you have to have a certain player in order to be able to play it. And we don't know whether DVD players, we know the VHS players are now $ 500 because you can't find them anywhere. We need to be able to have this access to those thoughts, those words, and how much I would love to hear my own grandfather's voice, who died when I was three, or my other grandfather died when I was seven to be able to hear their heart. Any of their story would be so valuable.

And Sandy, what you've done with Life's Final Thoughts and Life's Thoughts is you're giving us a chance to have a second chance to speak into people that we may not necessarily have gotten that chance to speak into very often. I love it.

Martha: Let me just say this, because one of the things - and thank you. Thank you for doing this. Thank you for following God's lead to use all of the business experience you've had over the years, but to do something with meaning, because on those momentous days in life, our hearts are the most open. And I think especially when you said to always be sure to include that the relationship with Jesus is most important because at that moment in time, that may be the time when that grandchild or that great grandchild who never really met you or remembers you gets that challenge to dig deeper into the faith that has been your legacy. And I'm just so excited for our listeners to hear about it. So how can they get connected to learn more about these apps?

Sandy Wheeler: Yeah, I think the real easy part is just go to a website. We happen to be redoing ours right now. But we'll have it fully functioning very soon, but it's www. lifesfinalthoughts. com.

Martha: And we'll put that in the show notes for everybody, but I just want to make sure that they know where to go to take those next steps. I can think of several people that have recently lost a loved one, and this is the time when they see, oh, the value that this could add to their family's future generations for those that are still remaining.

Jim: It's huge. It's going to take some time. It's going to take some time. But if you're going to leave a legacy, it's worthwhile taking that time and Sandy, you're rolling out apps with this on the app store for Apple and on Google, in the Google store, what is the app going to be called?

Sandy Wheeler: So the one app is Life's Final Thoughts. That's already approved on Google and Apple. And the next one's going to be Life's Thoughts. So very easy to remember the names. And yeah, we're looking forward to those days when it's really there, I might interject one more thing, Martha, that you just brought up. So one of the other things I've done on Life's Final Thoughts is make a provision so you can make a recording for your own funeral or Memorial.

And that came from the death of a Navy SEAL friend of mine that was killed on a helicopter called extortion one seven. And unknowns to me, I had shared with the guys, Hey, why don't you just make a video just in case anything should happen? And they're the toughest fighters. So most of them did not, but this one guy, he did. And we didn't know it until the end of his funeral. And at the very end, the whole room went dark and up pops Lou. And for six minutes, he talks to his wife. And for four minutes, he talks to two little boys who were five and seven at the time.

And that kind of stuff, I realized that also all of us have friends who are both Christian and not Christian. And it gives you one last opportunity in a time that you have their total attention and their total respect. And you get to tell them the words of your life that you want them to hear. I can hardly wait. I already have mine done and I can hardly wait for people to attend my funeral when that day comes. It'll be great.

Jim: Why is it, Sandy, that the recorded word has so much power? What you're talking about doing, there's so much power here, especially from those gone before us. We have very few video recordings that go past the fifties, maybe the forties is a couple of really rough stuff, but why is recorded word so powerful?

Sandy Wheeler: Well, the finale on how God made us was that the moment you lose a loved one, the most difficult thing is you can't hear their voice anymore. You can pull up pictures and you can talk about memories and all that kind of stuff. But it's hearing their voice that means something. And you just think about a baby to a mom relationship, right?

That baby is just something amazing when dad speaks, but then it's truly amazing when mom speaks. And it's just that same thing. I want that to be with them, not in the form of a recorded phone message that says, Hey, I'll be home at six. And they keep that because it's the only voice they have. I wanted the voice that says, I love you so very much and here's the most important things to remember.

Jim: Speaking of powerful things, iWork4Him has several powerful resources available on our website just for you. Go to iWork4Him.com and check it out. We even have the iRetire4Him podcast, which I hinted at in our opening today. If you're close to the end of your paid career or know someone that is just feeling empty in their retirement, check out the podcast iRetire4Him and the resources that go along with that on our iRetire4Him page, which is part of the iWork4Him website.

Sandy, you're 75 years old, you've had successful businesses. You've been involved in Nautilus and Bowflex and Schwinn Fitness. Why didn't you just check out and go on a 30 year vacation when you retired?

Sandy Wheeler: I think lack of fulfillment and. I'd only know that by God speaking to my heart and quite honestly, me wanting to finish the final lap of my life, making a difference in people's lives, including and very specifically my children and my grandchildren. We have five Children, but two of them were adopted. And if they were to die today, it would not give me peace of mind. And so with that, I just say, I just pray I have the opportunity, who knows when that might happen, but maybe to retap that heart and remind them because I don't want anyone not to make heaven their home.

It's going to be, they get one shot at this thing regardless of what they think, because we live out our life right here. And then when that final day comes. We're going to have one of two doors that we're going to go through, and you want the door that leads to Christ and eternal life. And so I'm praying that my job's not done. Whatever I can do, I'm hoping we'll reach millions because 100 percent of the world's population goes through bereavement and grief. And we have the opportunity to leave a legacy.

Jim: Yeah. Before we ask our final question, there's one story that really you've shared it with me when we were talking and you've shared some pictures with me, but there's a story of how God spared your life and the life of your family that really shaped your future and impacted who you are because God uses adversity in our lives to take us from who we are to who he can use more effectively, and it evolved a truck and a camper. Tell us a little bit of that story.

Sandy Wheeler: Yeah. We live in the Pacific Northwest and my wife and I, whether you like hunting or not, we happen to bow hunt and every year we'd go up and then the last day before I would break camp, basically a trailer, I would take Diana back home and I'd pick up our two little girls and I'd take them up and do the things like to hike through the forest and do all that kind of stuff.

This particular year, we're normally 70 to 80 degree temperatures at 6, 000 feet, and that night a storm rolled in, and by morning we had probably four or five inches of snow on the ground. I got real nervous, because my van was only two wheel drive, and I had to go down a logging road and up a fairly steep one to get to a ridge top to even begin the descent down to the highway.

And on this particular time, we did pretty good going up. I was praying I'm telling you like no other. And I got up to the one part and we started down. I thought, okay, this is going to be good. And it was really both snow and ice and the wind was blowing. It was bitterly cold. And we start down and I'm in this little part just before I come to an area that's cliffs on both sides.

And God said stop the van and have your little girls get out and walk. Now, in the world of common sense, that would make zero. And that's exactly how I responded. I thought that is the stupidest thought a guy could ever have. What dad would have the little girls get out and walk in a snow and ice storm, especially a quarter of a mile around cliffs on both sides?

So I went maybe 10 feet, maybe 20 feet, and I felt this hand grab me here, pull on me and he said, I said, stop the van and have your two little girls get out and walk. That was a Samuel moment for me. I'm all alone. There's no one else but me and the little girls. I stopped the van, get it tucked into the side of the hill so it won't slide.

I get them dressed. I tell them what to do. They got down to the one spot. Fortunately, they didn't follow my instruction and they kept walking. I was bringing the van down. I'm praying. I'm binding the enemy and thanking God. And I get to this one spot and in a millisecond, the van and the trailer go over a cliff.

I jump, catch the edge of the cliff, the Jeep who was following me, that I didn't know was behind me thought I went over with the entire rig. As it was, I was laying on the side of the road and I watched the thing actually tumble down and hit, destroying the trailer completely. And it required two off road wreckers 12 hours to get it back up to the top.

The thing was, I survived and these guys gave me a ride down. We picked up the little girls. About a week later, I was just devastated emotionally thinking about it. and thinking, what if? And I said to God, I said, I just don't understand God. Why didn't you just get me off that mountain? I was praying, giving you praise, binding the enemy. Just don't get it. Said, Sandy, that van and that trailer can be replaced, but I wanted you to know in the midst of any storm, you will be able to hear my voice. And that was powerful as it played out in my life, not knowing what life was going to deal with me. But later, and knowing that God never, ever let me down with those words of promise.

Martha: Powerful. And that, I can imagine, is a story that you have told to your family through time, and maybe even recorded it for future generations to hear. It just ties it up so nicely. This is a part of how God showed up in your life and he can do the same in future generations.

 What an amazing pivotal moment in your life. And I love this whole idea of the life thoughts. Life's Thoughts and Life's Final Thoughts. My family, Jim, you alluded to it, for a couple generations. First, we did the video with my grandparents over multiple times, but there was so much effort involved in getting production, even though it wasn't really production, but they had to think about what they were going to say and stories they were going to record.

And we do have that but in a format that is harder to watch because it's old format. So I love this new technology, this new way of doing things and the specialness of releasing it at a certain time. So Sandy, again, I'm just grateful for you following God's lead on that and using your life experience so that we all can benefit from that and really follow what Scripture said about telling future generations.

Jim: Boy, if the Israelites had only listened to their elders and the stories they passed on, we might not be having some of the problems we're having today in this world.

Sandy Wheeler: I think even for us, Jim, we need to listen. And that instruction was for every one of us, not just the children of Israel, right? There's a reason God put that in the Bible. And it is vitally important for us to be able to encourage the next generation and the next generation. They're going to go through some tough times that we've never witnessed. And I think it's your words of comfort, my words of comfort, they'll help them through that process. And that's what we do. My goal is that to make sure they make heaven their home and that I get to see them and spend eternity with them.

Jim: Sandy Wheeler with Life's Final Thoughts. com and in the app store Life's Final Thoughts. Check it out. Download it. Start using it today because you don't know when your last day is going to be. Sandy, thanks for being on iWork4Him today.

Sandy Wheeler: You bet. Thank you.

Jim: You've been listening to iWork4Him with your host Jim and Martha Brangenberg. We're Christ followers. Our workplace, it's our mission field, but ultimately iWork4Him.