Living Influence with Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd

How do you react when someone around you is honored, succeeds, or surpasses your own influence?In this episode, Bill and Scott discuss how maturity is the ability to sincerely delight in the growth and influence of those around you. Bill and Scott share stories of people around them who affirmed them throughout their lives. Affirming another person’s potential can transform their life and even organizations. We hope this conversation encourages you to create environments where others can flourish, and leaders can transform their organizations into thriving communities where every individual is valued for their unique contribution. We also hope this encourages you to experience the joy of celebrating others and their success.Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:(00:23) The idea that mature people delight in the influence and growth of others rather than competing with them.(01:45) Immature leaders often need to remain number one and get upset and jealous when others are honored.(04:17) Confronting hatred or a deep rooted trauma can become a turning point in your healing journey.(07:41) Scott explains how realizing employees were building their lives around his company changed his leadership mindset.(10:15) Shifting the company mission toward providing growth opportunities rather than just seeking profit.(16:09) Organizations and communities are, essentially, a body or a family where every individual is an essential necessity.This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYILearn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/booksFollow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

What expectations have you had to live up to? Has it helped you grow and mature, or has it actually hindered you?In this episode, Bill and Scott discuss how living up to others’ expectations, especially in leadership, parenting, and relationships, can actually hinder genuine growth. They talk about how people tend to perform in order to meet expectations, rather than develop true transformation rooted in trust. Instead of growing in maturity, expectations often produce performance-based behavior that masks deeper issues and prevents us from learning how to trust truth for ourselves. Real maturity comes through trust, not effort or compliance. When we can learn to trust truth rather than conform to expectations, we have the amazing opportunity to experience authentic transformation, rather than surface-level behavior change!Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: (01:32) True maturity is rooted in trust rather than personal effort or striving.(02:21) Allowing others to live by your expectations can hinder their development.(05:14) Leaders can unintentionally create performance-based followings instead of mature individuals.(08:05) Contrasting competency-based leadership with human-centered leadership.(12:05) A story about leaders resisting mutual expectations, revealing deeper leadership issues.(17:54) How unmet expectations serve as a deep source of emotional pain.This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast * Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How would your life change if you were trusted and loved in spite of your behavior?In this episode, Scott and Bill discuss the detrimental effects of behavior-based accountability groups, which often act as shame incubators, rather than places of healing and growth. They explain how true Christ-like maturity stems from being fully known and loved in a safe community where judgment is replaced by grace. They challenge each of us to rethink Church and community as a safe place where we can be fully known, in spite of what is true about us. A place without fear of judgment. A place where we don’t have to fear losing fellowship.Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:(00:53) Heart for a grace-based theology that focuses on love and trust, rather than legalism.(01:50) A listener’s letter describing a behavior-focused accountability group that became a “shame incubator.”(04:42) Accountability is helpful for business and tasks, but harmful when applied to relationships.(05:40) Trust, not failures, is what creates true safety between people.(08:33) A safe place values the person over their behavior, and removes the need to hide.(12:54) A vision for Churches to become places of love and trust, regardless of what is known about a person.This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYILearn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/booksFollow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

Can you imagine finding a community where it is actually safe for you to be fully known?In this episode, Bill, Scott, and Waldemar explore the struggles young adults face as they wrestle with shame, confusion, and questions about identity. They explain why behavior-focused thinking often leaves people trapped in hiding and why discovering the true significance of one’s person brings freedom. They emphasize embracing a message of grace and the life-changing power of safe relationships where young adults can be fully known and guided toward hope and a real identity in Jesus.Topics Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and Waldemar Kohl discuss in this episode:(01:28) Young adults feel overwhelmed by shame, confusion, and uncertainty about how life and belief actually work.(04:36) The story of a young man who asked, “What do I do now?” after becoming a believer, which changed how Bill viewed responsibility for guiding others.(06:40) The goal is not to fix young adults but to come alongside them and honor the significance of their person and who God says they are.(10:55) The tension many young adults feel between their sense of failure and the possibility of a completely new way of living.(19:14) Today’s young adults are highly sensitive to what is fake and are searching for something real and authentic.This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, Waldemar Kohl, and the Living Influence team.Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYILearn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/booksFollow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

Are your children experiencing your love, or simply responding to your authority?In this episode of Living Influence, Bill, Scott, and Waldemar unpack the powerful role trust plays in parenting. They challenge parents to move beyond authority-driven compliance and instead cultivate authentic relationships rooted in vulnerability and love. By risking being authentically known - struggles and all - parents can create an environment where children experience love and genuine transformation, rather than outward conformity.Topics Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and Waldemar Kohl discuss in this episode:(02:40) Questions Parents Often Wrestle With, Including Struggles With Authenticity And Fear Of Being Exposed.(06:15) The Greatest Gift A Parent Can Give A Child Is To Become Someone They Can Trust.(07:50) Warning to Parents Against Using Authority Alone To Control Behavior Rather Than Building Relational Trust.(11:22) Your Children Need To Know Your Struggles and Why.(13:46) A Personal Story About Waldemar’s Children Struggling With The Idealized Image They Had Of Him.(16:34) How Idealizing The Christian Life Creates Compliance Without Heart Transformation.(18:07) Compliance vs True Submission, And A Warning That Compliant Children Often Walk Away Later In Life.This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, Waldemar Kohl, and the Living Influence team.Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYILearn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/booksFollow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How would your life change if you truly believed that God is delighted in you right now?In this episode of Living Influence, Bill, Scott, and Waldemar address the quiet frustration of the exhausted believer who wonders why faith doesn’t seem to “work.” They discuss why many feel their faith is failing when they rely on personal effort over the finished work of Jesus. The hosts explain that true rest and joy come from shifting focus from "becoming" to simply living out of one’s established identity in Christ. By embracing humility and being authentic with God and others, believers can finally step into a life defined by grace and mutual love.Topics Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and Waldemar Kohl discuss in this episode:(02:14) Challenging the phrase “my faith is not working” and questions whether faith has subtly become effort rather than trust.(04:21) Exploring how turning spiritual growth into self-effort leads directly to exhaustion.(06:28) The difference between striving to become godly and expressing who you already are.(09:39) Can you trust that God is already delighted in you?(10:54) God actually enjoys His people and offers them His joy.(15:17) Grace is given to the humble and defines humility as trusting God “with me.”(18:39) Scott describes the powerful experience of being fully known in a safe community and discovering love instead of rejection.This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYILearn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/booksFollow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How can suffering actually accelerate your maturity?In this episode, Bill and Scott explore the profound relationship between spiritual maturity, suffering, and the willingness to take risks for the benefit of others. They challenge the assumption that obedience guarantees safety and comfort, emphasizing instead that it often leads to risk-filled purposes. Ultimately, they encourage listeners to move toward a Christ-centered life where they trust God with their unknown futures and embrace the influence they have on those around them.Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:(01:10) Suffering as an intentional part of God’s process of maturing people.(02:14) The difference between knowing information and obeying truth.(03:54) The difference between suffering common to humanity and suffering unique to believers.(05:10) Challenging the belief that obedience always leads to comfort or blessing.(06:16) Are you willing to take risks for the benefit of others?(08:26) Taking risks to care for your family.(10:46) Trusting God with the future.(13:01) Mature leadership and owning the influence one has on others.This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYILearn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/booksFollow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How do you know which stage of maturity you’re experiencing right now? Also, is it possible to have different levels of maturity in different aspects of your life?This episode reframes maturity as a trust-based process rather than a time-based achievement. Bill and Scott unpack why truth transforms only when it is trusted and why growth often happens repeatedly in different areas of life. They also highlight how safe, relational environments are essential for people to stop hiding and experience real transformation.Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:(01:39) Why maturity follows a “trust line,” not a timeline.(02:14) Contrasting truth-based transformation with performance-driven practices.(04:33) Why growth can’t happen without another person involved.(06:20) The need for safe places, especially for young believers.(07:38) The difference between defining safety and learning how to create it.(09:23) How modeling vulnerability creates safety in performance-driven cultures.(12:10) Why hiding prevents maturity and reinforces false identity.(20:35) How isolation leads to failure and why safe community interrupts that spiral.The Living Influence team is proud to announce the creation of Living Influence Leadership: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/Attend the Living Influence Leadership conferences and cohorts (also known as peer groups), and you’ll:* Lead from identity.* Cultivate trust that strengthens culture.* Gain clarity that fuels lasting influence.* Integrate who you are, and your God-given purpose, with how you lead.This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYILearn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/booksFollow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How might a renewed understanding of trust and authenticity elevate your leadership and transform those you lead? The Living Influence team is proud to announce the creation of Living Influence Leadership: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/ Attend the Living Influence Leadership conferences and cohorts (also known as peer groups), and you’ll: * Lead from identity.* Cultivate trust that strengthens culture.* Gain clarity that fuels lasting influence.* Integrate who you are, and your God-given purpose, with how you lead.Join Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and Waldemar Kohl for a transformative experience helping Christian executives lead from trust, authenticity, and the freedom of their God-given significance.Bill Thrall: For more than 40 years, Bill has helped senior executives around the world lead from identity, authenticity, and grace.Scott Boyd: Over the past 29 years, Scott has built a thriving business by shaping a culture of trust, grace, and empowered leadership.Waldemar Kohl: For nearly 20 years, Waldemar has worked with executives to create healthy, and high-performing organizations.Learn about Living Influence Leadership: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/

What happens when personal growth shifts attention away from yourself and toward others?In this episode, Bill and Scott explore the movement from a self-focused faith into an others-centered life marked by healing, trust, and love. They unpack how maturity is not achieved by striving, but by learning to receive love and allowing that love to overflow toward others. As believers experience healing, they become freer to care, lead, and influence without being consumed by themselves.Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode:(02:00) How personal crisis opened Scott’s life to grace, vulnerability, and deeper growth.(04:03) The difference between trusting with sin and trusting with one’s whole person.(06:05) How experiencing grace leads to feeling loved and then loving others.(07:15) Scott recounts how confession and affirmation became a turning point toward healing.(08:59) How letting oneself be loved is essential to experiencing real healing.(10:28) Immature love compared to mature love.(14:44) Healing as the evidence of maturity and freedom to love others.(18:28) Bill describes maturity as awareness of influence and care for how one affects others.This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast:* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYILearn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/booksFollow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How can we create a place where ourselves and our loved ones hide nothing? In this episode, Bill and Scott examine why shame teaches people to hide and how even Christian environments can unintentionally reinforce that fear. They also explore what it takes to create truly safe spaces where people can be known, trusted, and loved without pressure to perform or fix themselves. At the heart of the conversation is the hope that emerges when trust replaces hiding and maturity begins through relationship rather than self-effort.Please consider attending the Living Influence Leadership Seminar: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/ Join Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and Waldemar Kohl for a transformative experience helping Christian executives lead from trust, authenticity, and the freedom of their God-given significance.In this seminar, which will be held on March 11-13 in Scottsdale, Arizona, you’ll discover the power of authentic leadership. You’ll walk away with a renewed understanding of how trust and authenticity elevate your leadership and transform those you lead. Learn more at https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/services#section-1762312239710 This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast * Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How do we transition from living in our flesh to becoming alive in the Holy Spirit?In this episode, Bill and Scott explore what it means to move from living in the flesh to becoming alive in the Holy Spirit. Through Romans 7 and 8, they reveal why sin management and self-effort leave people stuck and discouraged. The conversation points to trust in the Spirit as the foundation for real hope, freedom, and transformation.Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: (02:19) How Romans 7 describes the ongoing reality of the Christian life. (03:03) The power of sin in the flesh as something humans were never created to manage.(05:00) Why self-effort and discipline can’t overcome the power of the flesh.(07:35) How people become desperate after exhausting themselves trying to fix themselves.(08:37) How working on sin will never resolve sin. (10:30) Why believing Christ is alive within changes how issues are addressed.(11:22) How grace produces hope.(17:24) How trusting the Holy Spirit allows Him to put the deeds of the flesh to death.(19:08) Maturity as defined by God.Attend The Living Influence Leadership Seminar: https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/ Join Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and Waldemar Kohl for a transformative experience helping Christian executives lead from trust, authenticity, and the freedom of their God-given significance.In this seminar, which will be held on March 11-13 in Scottsdale, Arizona, you’ll discover the power of authentic leadership. You’ll walk away with a renewed understanding of how trust and authenticity elevate your leadership and transform those you lead. Learn more at https://www.livinginfluenceleadership.com/services#section-1762312239710 This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast * Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How might your life change if you truly believed you were no longer a slave to sin?In this episode, Bill and Scott explore how faith—given to us when we were “dead in sin”—forms the foundation for a new identity in Christ. The conversation reframes spiritual growth from striving to sin less into trusting the truth of who God has already made us to be.Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: (00:41) How Christians often miss the obvious truth that faith is a gift.(02:39) The cycle of striving to sin less and hiding failures, and why it traps believers in defeat.(03:53) How Jesus not only died for sins but took believers into His death to give them new life.(05:13) Bill shares the short prayer that helped him believe he truly had the ability to serve righteousness.(06:20) Scott and Bill discuss the shift from “freedom from sin” to “freedom to live into God’s purposes.”(07:08) Bill begins unpacking 1 John 3 and what it means to be called children of God with the DNA of Jesus.(09:23) Bill explains why believers are righteous now, even though they are not yet fully mature.(12:41) Bill warns that focusing only on avoiding sin without embracing new identity leads to immaturity and defeat.(17:55) Bill prays for God to teach believers to trust their ability to love, and Scott shares how grief awakened his desire for shared love and community.This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast * Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast * TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/