Welcome to the Power of Authority Spotlight. I'm your host, Michelle Prince, founder and CEO of Performance Publishing Group, making a difference. One story at a time, we'll be shining the light on successful founders, entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders that are getting results and making a difference. We'll talk about how they built their business. Are creating movements and leveraging the power of authority in their own lives. Be sure to stick around to the end of the show and we'll reveal how you can be our next guest. Let's get started. Hi everybody, and welcome to the Power of Authority Spotlight, where we shine the light on amazing people and stories and. And movements of people sharing their story to make an impact in the world. And our guest today is somebody I'm so excited for you to get to know. His name is Roger Fight, and he was raised in a small farm and ranch community in Western Oklahoma. And during his years, he grew up in a sheltered church environment that discouraged the pursuit of any other teachings concerning the character of God. His hunger for truth took him through many peaks and valleys of life as he experienced the blessings of love and the heartache of loss. But his quest to know and learn led him to embrace God's sovereignty greater with each turn of the path he walked. The writings of the book that he's written, which we will be talking about today, misplaced cowboy writings. The writings of this book are a small compilation of his stories and prose. Hopefully they're gonna inspire you to embrace God's wonderful sovereignty and understand that he works out the circumstances of their lives for their ultimate good. And I just couldn't be more excited to bring you onto the show, Roger, so welcome. Thank you very much and my pleasure to be here. Well, I remember when we first met over the phone, uh, in fact, this is the first time you and I are actually seeing each other over a Zoom because we've both admitted we don't love Zoom. But um, yeah. That's right. That's right. But we've had so many wonderful, wonderful phone conversations, and I remember the first time us talking and you sharing a couple stories that you had just been putting together, and not sure yet if, if it, if it. Was enough or could be enough for a book. And I remember falling in love with some of your stories and, and encouraged you to, to pursue it, which I know you had already thought about, but I'm just so glad you did. And, um, but I'm, I'm so glad our, our pass crossed, you know, over a, over a year ago. Great. Well, uh, I just, uh, I just hope that, uh, as you said, writings of this book. Or something that will inspire somebody. Uh, I just, I come to the conclusion, uh, prayed about it, and I, I figured if, if I could affect one person for the good, for God's kingdom, then it's worth it. It absolutely is. And, and I do, we will jump into the book in just a minute and some of the stories, but I would love for you to just share, share your background, you know, what, what, where you, um, you know, what you did throughout your career, where you come from, and anything about your background that you'd just love to share. Well, uh, where do I start? I think you, uh, you kind of said it a, a moment ago when you said that I was raised in a small farm and ranch community out in western Oklahoma. And the, the community, uh, it was a good community, but it, it, it, uh, the, uh, the spiritual background there didn't promote a lot of. Looking forward. I mean, it was, uh, kind of isolated, if you will. And, uh, that never sat well with me, even as a young man. And so I ventured out and, uh, it was a farming farm and ranch community. And I just, that's one of the reasons I call myself a misplaced cowboy because through the years I have had. A little bit of farm and ranch operations and few old cows, and that's where I feel at home. But, uh, anyway, I, I, uh, went to university and got a, an accounting and economics degree. Uh, and I do a social science degree in there because I thought I was gonna go into law school. Well, uh, you know, to, to, to not belabor that I decided I had enough school schooling. And, uh, uh, besides that, I wasn't sure that the, uh, integrity of a lawyer would suit me. No, I'm kidding. Bad joke here. You know why a snake won't buy an attorney? Right. Professional courtesy. Anyway, bad jokes. My, my boys, I raised two sons and they used to call me the king of corny jokes. But, uh, anyway, let's, let's go on. We digress. Yeah. Uh, but, uh, anyway, I got that and I worked in oil and gas, uh, for. About 20 years, and I was always in building and in construction. And, uh, we sold our company. And so I went full-time into, into the construction mode and I built pretty much exclusively custom homes. Uh, I don't do a lot of speculative or anything like that, but, uh, that's kind of been my path from a business standpoint. Uh, raised, had two boys, uh, uh, raised two sons. I have one that's I think. See he is 40 and 1 43. One lives here in this area in Oklahoma. He works for Integris Hospital Group. Uh, my oldest or my youngest son is a digital animator and director for Pixar. And uh, uh, then my daughter was killed in a car wreck. So, uh, you know, I had a lot of things kind of. Uh, go around in my life. I, about 30 years ago, 32 years ago, I got involved with a friend of mine and, uh, went on a mission project in South America. And, uh, God really got a hold of my heart there and, and, uh, and uh, is something that, uh, I knew that I wanted to be involved in. And I kind of. Uh, pledged to him that I wanted to do something. So I put together an organization to take, to do a lot of volunteer missions and, uh, I, I put together an organization called Building for Christ Limited. And, uh, what we did there wasn't, I best I could tell there was only one organization similar to it in Florida at the time. And so, uh, put that together and. We took groups from all over the United States. Uh, different churches had had, uh, funds that they wanted to share to build a church or build a Christian school or something. Uh, and other churches didn't have the funds, but they had the people. So I put those together and it worked very well, and we, I've been privileged to be able to help, uh, build. I believe somewhere around 40 Christian schools and churches in South America, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, et cetera. And, uh, the, you know, and, and working on four years ago, I lost my wife. And, uh, I've always written a little bit. Uh, talking about why I wrote the book, I've always written a little bit and I enjoyed it. And I, and I, and I really like to write in a prose type setting. And, uh, uh, some of the stories in the book are, uh, are, are just stories of things that I've experienced in South America or other, and then some are just, uh, uh, just a little, just short, I don't know what you call it. Narratives, prose, uh, of different subjects and, uh, hopefully in imparted a little wisdom. I know cowboys aren't supposed to have any of that for Gump and I are first cousins. But, uh, that's kind of brings you up to where, why I wrote the book. Uh, uh, I wasn't going to write anything but a, uh, my sister has a, has a son and the 23rd of this month, he has been inaugurated as a college president in Florida. And I'm, uh, flying down there to, uh, he asked me to come to the inauguration. So, um, Lynn and I are flying down to the inauguration, into the ball afterwards, and then we're gonna spend a few days in Charleston. But, uh, uh, he stayed with me a couple of years ago and read some of my, my stories and writings, and he has a, he is a, he has a doctor in the literature and he said, Roger, you got to publish this. And I says, I says, Gentry, come get, get back. This is just me. He says, no, people here need to hear it. So that is why he put me over the edge to try to, to write it. And that's shortly thereafter I contacted you. And, uh, here we are. And I love the timing of it because you're gonna go down to that inauguration and you're gonna bring your books. I hope. And you know, I'm not gonna promote him there. That's his, that's his daddy. That's his show. It is. But at least you have to give him one so that he has Yeah, he already has one. Okay. Okay. Well, to know that what that he and inspired you and Well, I love your story and what I really enjoy about it is the thread, and I could hear it just throughout your life, the thread of faith and the importance of that. That seems to be such a. A big part of your, your story. Yeah. And, and I do love that you share that openly in your book. And let, let's talk about some of the stories because which, which ones are your favorite? And give us a little overview. Well, before we say that, I appreciate what you said, but I want to add one, one thing to that. And that is the fact that yes, it's about faith. But everything I wrote and everything I do, and every time I can be a witness, if possible, I, I want it to always point to God's sovereignty. That is the theme of the book. Mm-hmm. Does that make sense? Yes, absolutely. I love it. Alright. You asked me, you asked me what is my favorite? Yes. What's your favorite story? I don't know. Uh, I like to share the things that, uh, God allowed me to see in my mi in the mission work that I did in South America. Uh, I, I love to share that. Uh, you know, let me tell you, when I wrote this book, uh, I didn't sit down and just write it over a period of time. This, these were things that I wrote. Uh, as I was inspired to ride, I might have, I, I may have had a large project going on in another part of the state and I might be driving on the interstate and my mind would just, I think too much and my mind would grab a thought and I would be inspired and I'd pull up the side of the road and write one right there, uh, or. I might get up of the morning and first thing I do, Nicole, not Nicole, I'm sorry, Michelle. Um, Nicole's on my team and she's great. So, well, both of you guys are great. But anyway, uh, I stumbled to the coffee pot and get, make my coffee and if it is cool weather, I go to the fireplace and sit there and drink it. Well. I may have done that. And I think there's a number of times I sat there and as I reflected, uh, prayed a little bit and reflected, I just sat there and wrote a story or a narrative. That's, that's when I did it. It wasn't a matter. 'cause I have a friend that wrote a book and he said, I just took two weeks and wrote it. I said, no, that's not me. Me either. Me either. I actually, uh, it doesn't take me long to write a book, but I do have to have that inspiration and Yes. And I don't feel the need to have to write every day. Yeah. Yeah. I feel it. Yeah. But, uh, uh, but those, those things were, uh. I don't know. I, I, I think, uh, there's a section in my book and it's called Loss. Mm-hmm. Uh, and uh, I really kinda enjoyed sharing those things with people in the hopes that many people lose. Lose loved ones through life. And I was hope, I hoped that some of that could help someone. Yeah. So I enjoyed writing about that. Not that loss was fun because it's, uh, uh, there's section in there about love again. That was fun to write also. Yeah. But, uh, and, and that's my line, but, um, I just hope that whatever I wrote. Somebody, because I, I, I will tell you, I've had so many comments about the book and it seems like almost everyone that comments has a different writing that they enjoyed. Okay. And I like that. I like that because you're meeting people where they are and everybody's in a different place. Some might still be in the grief journey or some are beyond it, you know? Yeah. In the next chapter, like, yeah. Yeah. So, um, I, I, I just, I feel like they're very, they're, they're, you do take us through some of the things that you've experienced, but they are still so hopeful and so, um. That's the best word I'm thinking of. They're just, they provide so much hope. I just, I like that. I like that hope. That's, if I didn't think that, if I thought I was just doing it for myself, I probably wouldn't have written it. I know, I know. Well, and, uh, what is, so, and, and I know we talked about this before we even pushed the record button, whether or not there's another book, but what is, what is your next, what is on the horizon now that this book is out and we wanna make sure we get it still in front of as many people as possible? What is Well. You mean next chapter gonna be another book? Is that what you're asking? Yes. Yes. Uh, maybe I have been asked to do that. And, uh, uh, we'll see, uh, uh, we'll see how it goes. And, uh, I'm very busy with my, I'm, I build custom homes as, uh, we discussed. And, uh, uh, I'm bit, I'm, so I'm supposed to be retired, Michelle. But I'm just not smart enough to figure out how to do that, you know? But, uh, anyway, I'm still working and I've got some projects for, for some time, and, uh, so I'll be busy with that and I'm still, and I'm, uh, getting back into some mission work. So I'm doing some of that and, uh. I have a new wife that's probably gonna keep me pretty busy, so I hope she'll let me have a little time by the fireplace to write something. Well, I think you're just getting started, so whatever that future is, if it's another book or not, just keep writing your stories and sharing your stories and, and just being the inspiration that you are. And you are a misplaced cowboy, but you're writing well, that's as I shared in my book a time or two. Uh. I like pretty much all things Western. I I, I'm a, I'm a dreamer. Yeah. You're from Oklahoma. I believe it. I see it. And you know what, we're gonna, I, I just, I love that about you, so. Well, thank you so much. If people wanna get their hands on the book or if they wanna get ahold of you, what's the best way to do that? Well, it's, uh, it's, it's on sale@amazon.com. It's only, uh, you can purchase it at, uh, barnes and noble.com. Uh, united kingdom.com. Um. Or, uh, I believe walmart.com has it also. I'm not sure. Or, you know, plenty of online retailers are carrying it, that's for sure. Yeah. Yeah. But you said you asked the question. Uh, now would they get ahold of me? I guess? Uh, I, I don't have my contact on the book, but, um, um, I guess I could share my email with you if you'd like. Well, I tell you what, I tell you what, we can put it in the show notes, but more than anything, we want just folks to read the book. So definitely go to the easiest is probably Amazon. Go to Amazon and buy the book again. It's called, uh, mis misplaced Cowboys writings. Uh, that's hard for you to say. It's, it's like, shouldn't be a tongue twister, but for some reason it's been a tongue twister every time I've said it today. Um, and it's Roger Fi FITE. So I hope everyone listening grabs their copy and I would suggest you grab two to share it with a friend because the stories really are inspiring, inspirational, um. Hopeful, and I think we all need a little bit of hope these days. Well, I, I do too. Uh, I, I have, uh, my own style. Mm-hmm. Uh, and, uh, that's, I've had, not to digress, but I've had numerous comments about people enjoying my style because I try to convey a thought, a message, a story with this, with fewer words than some would. And, uh, I, I want everything to be meaningful. Yes. And beautifully written. So thank you, Roger. Thank you so much for being on the show and, uh, can't wait to hear what's gonna come next, but go enjoy your time with your beautiful new bride. And uh, again, just thank you for so much for being on the show. Thank you, Michelle. I enjoyed it. Awesome. All right everyone. Well, that is it for the Power of Authority Spotlight. Again, definitely go grab that book, uh, by Roger Fi, FITE, misplaced cowboys writings. It's definitely one you won't regret getting and share it with a friend. And so until next time, we'll see you again on the Power of Authority Spotlight. Bye everybody. Thanks so much for listening to the Power of Authority Spotlight. If you are a successful founder, entrepreneur, business owner or leader that's getting results and make. In a difference and you'd like to be on this program, please visit performance publishing group.com/podcast to apply. That's Performance publishing group.com/podcast. Also, if you got something out of this interview, please share this episode. Just do a quick screenshot with your phone and text it to a friend or post it on the socials. If you know someone that would be a great guest, tag them on social media to let them know about the show and include the hashtag, the Power of a. Authority Spotlight. I love seeing your posts and guest suggestions. We are regularly putting out new episodes and content, so make sure you don't miss any episodes by subscribing your thumbs up. Ratings and reviews go a long way to help promote the show and mean a lot to me and my team. Wanna know more, go to our websites performance publishing group.com or michelle prince.com and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Thanks so much for listening, and we'll see you next time.