Turning Pain into Purpose with Troy Duhon

In this inspiring episode of TimTalks, Troy Duhon, owner of Premier Auto Group and founder of Giving Hope Foundation, shares his journey from overcoming personal tragedies to building a life of leadership and philanthropy. 

Learn how he transformed pain into a global mission, feeding thousands, building orphanages worldwide, and creating a legacy of compassion in the automotive industry. 

Connected with Troy on LinkedIn, and learn more about Giving Hope NOLA. 

[00:00 – 00:26] Welcome to 2025
Tim introduces the first episode of 2025 and welcomes Troy Duhon, owner of Premier Auto Group.

[00:26 – 01:41] Introducing Troy
Tim shares his first encounter with Troy, praising his leadership, faith, and philanthropy. 

[01:41 – 02:33] Troy’s Journey
Troy recounts his journey into car sales under his father’s influence, despite a challenging upbringing.

[02:33 – 05:36] From Sales to Ownership
Troy shares how he became the youngest Toyota dealer in the world and the lessons he learned from his father.

[05:36 – 08:24] Overcoming Hurricane Katrina
Troy describes the devastation Hurricane Katrina brought to his dealerships in 2005, and how he turned his challenges into a commitment to giving back.

[08:24 – 11:23] Leading with Purpose
Troy discusses Premier Auto Group’s unique model of giving ownership to partners and his commitment to philanthropy.

[11:23 – 14:45] Giving Hope NOLA
Tim reflects on his experience at Troy’s Giving Hope Gala and how Troy’s team runs a food bank and supports orphanages globally.

[14:45 – 17:10] Creating a Culture of Compassion
Troy advises leaders to identify local community needs and involve employees in making an impact. 

[17:10 – 19:47] Legacy Over Wealth
Troy highlights the importance of building a legacy over material wealth, sharing personal anecdotes about instilling values in his children.

[19:47 – 24:08] Pain Becomes Purpose
Troy shares the loss of two sons to Potter’s Syndrome, leading him to adopt and build orphanages worldwide and turn personal pain into a global mission.

[24:08 – 27:00] Encouraging Resilience
Tim reflects on his own hardships and how Troy’s resilience and commitment to serving others inspired him and his family during difficult times.

[27:00 – 28:27] Keys to a Meaningful 2025
Troy challenges listeners to love unconditionally, give selflessly, and lead by example to make 2025 their best year yet.

[28:27 – 29:04] Closing Thoughts
Tim expresses gratitude for Troy’s time and story, encouraging listeners to apply the lessons shared and subscribe to the podcast.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to 2025
• 0:26 Introducing Troy
• 1:41 Troy’s Journey
• 2:33 From Sales to Ownership
• 5:36 Overcoming Hurricane Katrina
• 8:24 Leading with Purpose
• 11:23 Giving Hope NOLA
• 14:45 Creating a Culture of Compassion
• 17:10 Legacy Over Wealth
• 19:47 Pain Becomes Purpose
• 24:08 Encouraging Resilience
• 27:00 Keys to a Meaningful 2025
• 28:27 Closing Thoughts

Transcript

00;00;00;25 - 00;00;26;25
Speaker 1
In over three decades, I've learned that truly great car dealerships are only great because of one thing leadership. So I'm sitting down with the great men and women. Inspiring Automotive on Tim Talks automotive Leadership and beyond. Oh welcome everyone. And oh by the way. Happy New year. Happy 2025. Hopefully you had an amazing holiday season with your friends and family.

00;00;26;25 - 00;00;56;21
Speaker 1
And I am pretty fired up today. You know, several, several times in my life as you've seen me bring on here people that that I've heard about, and then I get to meet in person and, and you know the old saying, don't meet your heroes, right. And because they'll let you down, that is the antithesis of what it was when I had the privilege of meeting Troy Duhon, founder and, CEO, I believe, president of the Premier Auto Group.

00;00;58;04 - 00;01;19;04
Speaker 1
Just an incredible human being. And, Troy, as busy as he is. Said yes to coming on as as I always say, we're on the back nine now, and, I want to give back. I want to I want to make a difference when my when my, VP of strategic accounts, Andrea said, you've got to meet Troy.

00;01;19;04 - 00;01;41;05
Speaker 1
You guys are literally like, what? You know, with your faith and with your, you know, energy at. You got to meet him. And and when I met him, you know what? Just phenomenal. So with that intro, Troy, welcome to the first episode of 2025. Tim talks leadership and beyond. Welcome my friend, and thank you so very much for your time.

00;01;41;08 - 00;01;47;02
Speaker 2
But you know, Tim, thank you for having me. I didn't know I was your hero. I thought you liked me because I was an LSU grad.

00;01;47;05 - 00;02;06;21
Speaker 1
Well, we need to talk about that. I said, one of, you know, the fact that and we're going to get into that story, we're going to get into, you know, just your story in general. You know, let's just let's just dive into it, man. I mean, you you you wait. I mean, I know you bought your first dealership.

00;02;06;26 - 00;02;11;11
Speaker 1
I heard the video. I think I read up at 30 years old.

00;02;11;17 - 00;02;15;25
Speaker 2
I was, I was I was the youngest Toyota dealer in the world. They told me.

00;02;16;05 - 00;02;19;17
Speaker 1
How did that even happen? Like you were you were working inside the store, right?

00;02;19;24 - 00;02;32;06
Speaker 2
Yeah. Let's go way back. So in the 70s, my dad was in the car business. And back then car salesmen would drink like fish, like, literally bourbon and scotch on the showroom floor.

00;02;32;06 - 00;02;33;19
Speaker 1
So among other things.

00;02;33;19 - 00;02;55;15
Speaker 2
Among other things. So my dad was a very successful car guy, but he became a social alcoholic. Yeah. It's a it's a great story. My mother filed divorce. My daddy loved my mother, but my daddy loved bourbon and coke, and and he wanted to save his marriage. So his used car manager at the time tells my dad, take her to church.

00;02;55;18 - 00;03;20;15
Speaker 2
He's like, do what? Take her to church. Yeah. So my daddy takes my mother to church, and they gave him a name of a church. And this wasn't some simple Catholic or Baptist church. This was a Pentecostal church. Well, he did people crazy. But you know what? When you drink or you're an alcoholic, you're suppressing pain like, that's, you know, when you when you read about alcoholism, it's normally people that are in pain.

00;03;20;15 - 00;03;41;28
Speaker 2
And when my daddy walked into this church Tim, he saw happy and he saw people that were smiling, singing, dancing. And for him, that was something different. And long story short, the third time he went back to church, he went to the altar and asked the preacher to pray for him. And my mother says, even to this day I saw your daddy do something had never seen him do so, mama, what did daddy do?

00;03;41;29 - 00;04;07;11
Speaker 2
So your daddy started crying a and even, you know, like hard men, you never see emotion to my dad cry 45 minutes next day, my daddy woke up and went cold sober. So my dad did not go to A.A.. Didn't do 12 steps. So all of a sudden, his mind. Remember he was an addict. So that means that every day he dreamed and craved rum and Coke.

00;04;07;13 - 00;04;37;29
Speaker 2
So today, that day he didn't. And needless to say, that made him realize this God thing is real. Because today I don't crave rum and Coke. Long story short, he got out of the car business, sold the dealership, and became a Pentecostal preacher. I was born and raised in a crazy car dealer tongue talking, holy rolly house. And I will be honest with you, as soon as my dad could get me to sell cars, which was 18 years old, I was a freshman at LSU.

00;04;38;08 - 00;04;53;17
Speaker 2
He got me selling cars. And, you know, I used to tease my dad, said, dad, it'd been really nice if you gave me the keys to the business, so I wouldn't have had to work so hard. And you know, when your dad wants to get your attention, he says things like this. Boy, let me tell you something.

00;04;53;20 - 00;05;11;24
Speaker 2
You got to let me tell you something. I gave you something more valuable than the keys I gave you the wisdom to keep the keys. And, you know, I never forgot that Tim. So. So cars throughout LSU every semester break. Every summer break I sold cars. That's how I paid for school. I was too proud to ask my parents for money.

00;05;12;14 - 00;05;36;01
Speaker 2
Started selling cars when I graduated. Became a small owner at 25 years old, took a Dodge store, took a bankrupt single point Dodge store to number nine in the country, which which was a big deal back then. Made enough money and actually got into negotiations on a Toyota store that was in litigation with Toyota. So every day trying to buy this thing.

00;05;36;01 - 00;05;57;04
Speaker 2
And I just convince the parents, why sell it to that guy? Why not make a dream come true? I got the wherewithal. I'll get approved. I know I'm only 30 years old, but I can do this. And he sold it to me. So in 1995, December 15th, 1995, I opened up Toyota of New Orleans, and it was my first dealership on my own.

00;05;57;18 - 00;06;18;05
Speaker 2
Did very well with it. I mean, let's be honest, any time you get a Toyota store in the country, you gotta do okay, right? Right. And then from there, begin to grow and and then in 2005, Katrina hit, and I had five dealerships at the time, I was 39 years old. And Jim, I'll never forget it.

00;06;18;06 - 00;06;43;19
Speaker 2
I just I was in shock to see what water damage could happen. Like, literally, I was a grown man on my knees crying because everything, I went underwater, I lost 1200 cars. My insurance receivables were $35 million. I want you to think about that for a second and you know, and tell. No, nothing at school, nothing in dealer academy.

00;06;43;22 - 00;07;06;13
Speaker 2
Nothing I've learned taught me how to deal with this. One day, I got 500 employees. The next day they're gone. And you don't even know what the city is coming back and, I ended up four out of five, went completely underwater, and I ended up having one Nissan store that was dry. So I took all my employees that were didn't evacuate, who came back, and I put them there.

00;07;06;15 - 00;07;33;05
Speaker 2
And that month we sold 730 new and used Nissans. Needless to say, that was a record month. And I'll be honest with you, I'll never forget the day, we took the Honda dealership Tim, And we converted to the FEMA relief center, so FEMA had no place to operate. So I told the mayor and I took it to the Honda Store.

00;07;33;05 - 00;07;59;22
Speaker 2
I'll let FEMA set up there. They did Tim. We were running 1200 cars a day, people who just needed diapers and supplies and cleaning supplies and dog food and cat food and and, I'll never forget it. I watched the joy on my employee's face, and I said, you know what? This is what its really about. This is what it's so about.

00;07;59;22 - 00;08;24;09
Speaker 2
And, you know, and I'm a big guy. So I said, Lord, if you get me through this, I promise the rest of my career will be giving back. And at that time, I had five dealerships. Today, I now have 40. We're in eight states. We have 2000 employees. We do about 2 billion a year in sales. And I got to tell you, that was probably one of the strongest, most important commitments I ever made my life.

00;08;24;11 - 00;08;44;04
Speaker 2
Because when I made it about others. Tim, one thing about Premier that's a little bit different. Every dealership I have has an operating partner, so I whether they have money or not, I give them ownership and I let them become the partner. And as you have learned through giving hope, we go back into the community and we give back.

00;08;44;06 - 00;09;07;11
Speaker 2
So for me, I would say the defining moment was that day when I realized that this is what it's really about. It's about giving back. And I'll give you one last story. Katrina was 2005 and 2008. My daddy died. You know, my daddy work with me, when my dad was in the car business, obviously, he would never root.

00;09;07;18 - 00;09;24;27
Speaker 2
Like most car people, they work six days a week, 12 hours a day, and so my dad was never around. But when he became a preacher, he tried to make up for lost time. But then when I got in the car business, he came back and worked for me part time. So he made up for lost time. So I wanted to be there when my daddy died and and it went like this.

00;09;24;27 - 00;09;42;14
Speaker 2
The hospice nurse called me and said, Troy, you got to get here real quick. Your daddy is fading and he wants to talk to you. Now, I don't know if your listeners have ever made maybe you were there when you passed out or not. Yeah. Very emotional moment. And it was. So I got to the house as quick as I could.

00;09;42;14 - 00;10;08;24
Speaker 2
I walked in, my dad had tears coming down his cheek. He grabbed my hand with a double handshake and he said, son, you're on a treadmill and you need to get off because what you're facing, son, is wealth, and what you really need to be chasing is more of a godly legacy. And then, Tim, the next thing he said to me, I'll never forget, he said, son, don't you ever close down that food bank?

00;10;09;15 - 00;10;27;01
Speaker 2
I said, daddy, why? He said, son, no one is going to remember how many cars you've sold in your career. But the good Lord counted every time you feed his people. Tim. He put his arm out. The hospice nurse shot him with morphine because the cancer had gotten to the brain, so he couldn't deal with the pain.

00;10;27;01 - 00;10;46;25
Speaker 2
The more he never said another word and died on Sunday morning like you said he would. Now, I don't know what that gets you emotional, but it gets me very, very time I tell the story. Because you know what? We're in the car business, Tim, and let's be honest, people come and go. So name change on buildings. And he's right.

00;10;46;25 - 00;11;15;04
Speaker 2
He said, he said you'd be dead long gone. Somebody else's name will be on that dealership. And it's true that we put so much emphasis and selling cars and servicing cars. There's nothing wrong with that. There has to be purpose for the profit. So what I tell my team, what is our purpose for the profit? And here, there what we do a little bit different is every car we sell, every ranch we turn, money goes to Giving Hope our foundation, and we build orphanages around the world.

00;11;15;04 - 00;11;23;06
Speaker 2
We now build nine and we feed 5 to 6000 people a day. So that's how giving hope started. Tim.

00;11;23;08 - 00;11;46;02
Speaker 1
Okay, look, I, I, you know, the similarities. A lot of people know my father was a pastor for 50 years. You know, the car business. I've never had the privilege to own a, be a dealer principal. But I had the opportunity to speak, at the, Giving Hope gala. And as soon as I was done, Troy takes my hand, says, I want to show you something.

00;11;46;04 - 00;12;14;18
Speaker 1
And he walks me in the back of, the premier headquarters there and New Orleans and any, any. And people are run around like, you know, ants on an ant hill, man, that are styrofoam boxes. And there's trucks coming in and, and I almost and I, I had a I took a minute is off look at look I had I had nothing some of y'all have seen me cry before I, I'm just blessed and and I'm just overwhelmed, that I get to do what I do.

00;12;14;18 - 00;12;50;02
Speaker 1
And I see people running around and they're feeding people and trucks are coming in where they're getting every single day out of the back of car dealership, at the home offices there. And then he and then he walks me around and he shows me the pictures of orphanages in Honduras and, and all over, the world. And, you know, I, I've said it so many times, you know, I, I'm officially I guess we're both on the back nine per se, unless I'm going to live over 100 and, you know, my and look, I don't run from my faith.

00;12;50;02 - 00;13;13;02
Speaker 1
And if somebody gets offended, I guess you can just turn me off. But my dad always told me this, and I don't know if it was originally to him or not, but he said, son, I mean, because he's, he's he had a stroke and he's, he's in a home now. But what a godly example. And I asked my mom, just two years ago and what incredible, godly examples to pour into the next generation as they pour it into you.

00;13;13;02 - 00;13;27;08
Speaker 1
Troy. My dad told me, son, never forget with success and everything else he says soon your time on this earth will pass, but only what's done for God will last. But it.

00;13;27;08 - 00;13;28;08
Speaker 2
Will last.

00;13;28;11 - 00;13;46;09
Speaker 1
And last and last. And brother, you get that. And I saw it firsthand, and and we talk about selling cars a lot in here and we talk about leadership. But, you know, I did use the word hero earlier. And look, I know, you know, just like with our company, you know, I'm country is cornbread. Now, I know every dog has fleas.

00;13;46;16 - 00;14;13;05
Speaker 1
There's no perfect automotive group. There's no perfect software group. You know, you're in the news here. This happened. This happened at the end of the day. If leadership in the dealership, if leadership is steadfast and you know, I tell people all the time, what do people say about you when you're not around, right. Even when and you have done an incredible job, brother, the fact that Andrea said, you've got to meet Troy, you guys are going to get along.

00;14;13;05 - 00;14;45;11
Speaker 1
I am just so encouraged. By, the fearlessness you have with your faith. It's encouraging to me. I'm encouraged by you answering your father's call about making a difference. And not only in your community, but around the world and the impact that will make for generations. So. So let me ask you this. You know, to that whether it's a dealer principle to whether that's a GSM, a new, a new person, where do they start on leaving that type of legacy?

00;14;45;17 - 00;15;04;19
Speaker 1
Where do they like, you know, wow. I mean, hopefully I'm inspired. I, you know, how do I obviously, you know, let's just be completely honest. It's a little bit more difficult now, to purchase a dealership. You know, with the publics and everything else, but but not even buying a dealership, but just making, you know, your mark in this space.

00;15;04;19 - 00;15;15;17
Speaker 1
What are you what do you say to that new GSM GM, you know, how do you pour into those people that are that are new, sitting behind the decks of your own dealerships? I mean, where do you start?

00;15;15;19 - 00;15;36;24
Speaker 2
I would say this if I'm running a dealership and I want to create a culture of, say, corporate compassion, or as we call it, profit for a purpose, I'm going to look in my own backyard to see what the need is. So, you know, after Katrina, obviously food insecurity was a big issue. So whatever it is, the need is it domestic violence?

00;15;36;26 - 00;16;01;12
Speaker 2
Is it is it sex trafficking? You know, here's a story. I here's a line I would tell anybody. Find the injustice that angers you or the passion that inspires you because that's what you're called to. And then when you know what that is, you sell that vision to your employees, and then you challenge the organization to make a difference in that lane.

00;16;01;15 - 00;16;22;25
Speaker 2
Now, here's a beautiful thing. When you interview a Gen Z or millennial versus a baby boomer, the difference? Tim, human rights are a big deal to Gen Z, big deal to Gen Z. And we have learned that when we do the things in the community, it's amazing to see how many of our employees come up to us and say, that's why I work for you.

00;16;22;28 - 00;16;47;05
Speaker 2
Not because of the pay, not because of the the learning. It's because of what you do in the community, because you as an organization, make me proud as your employee, because you're trying to make the world a better place. And when your employees have that emotional attachment to the business, they will make a $5,000 signing bonus or that master tag gets a $10,000 signing bonus.

00;16;47;08 - 00;17;10;12
Speaker 2
The wife says you're not going anywhere because the dealership you work at takes care of people in this community. So you make the emotional attachment based on a cause, an injustice, or a passion. So whether you're a GSM, a GM, a salesman, find the need in your community and be part of the solution.

00;17;10;15 - 00;17;46;25
Speaker 1
That look that success leaves clues. Guys, we've said that time and time and time again and, you know, Troy is saying what Patrick Abad said at Beaver Toyota and their their involvement in their community. The Kevins, I can go on and on and I'll forget names and people get mad at me. But success leaves clues. And it's just, you know, when something happens, when people, go to work every day and understand that they're working for something possibly even bigger than themselves, possibly bigger than that paycheck, something happens.

00;17;46;25 - 00;18;11;01
Speaker 1
Something happens when you lead that way. Because so many, you know, I've had the privilege and maybe not, you know, but to see both sides, you know, with CarNow and with the dealerships that we have, I see the good, the bad and the ugly, right? The old Clint Eastwood movie, I see the, the, the Troy Duhons, but I also see dealerships that aren't ran, with heart or ran with passion.

00;18;11;01 - 00;18;36;08
Speaker 1
And it's it's, you know, all about, you know, just get the just get them in mentality and turn and burn and throwing paperwork and this and that and it's it's I want to just bang them on the head saying guys you don't get it successfully. This is what success looks like. This is temporary and passing through. I think so many times when we as humans, whether we're in the car business or not, as far as leaders, we get when we get any type of success.

00;18;36;08 - 00;18;53;09
Speaker 1
And that could be even when I was a salesperson in the, in the, in the, you know, mid 90s and well, I started in 89, but selling cars and you get some success. Then we start thinking we know everything, right? And then we walk into, you know, every meeting or every salesperson, like we're the smartest person in the room.

00;18;53;09 - 00;19;25;19
Speaker 1
And I think that's where true leadership and growth comes when when you understand and you keep that open mind to think, you know what, I don't know everything. Let me look at my game film. Let me truly get better because I do believe that there's so many people in today's world with social media and, you know, the staged, you know, that I saw a post the other day, somebody had a fake private plane, and it was booked every hour on the hour, every day, because people on their social media accounts were acting like they were in a fake plane, you know, or this car, this guy, you know.

00;19;25;22 - 00;19;26;20
Speaker 2
I'll give you a great story.

00;19;26;21 - 00;19;27;27
Speaker 1
That one. Please, please.

00;19;28;01 - 00;19;47;11
Speaker 2
So as you and I both said, legacy, right at the end of the day, what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to build a wealth pot and leave it to my kids as a trust fund, which will ruin them? Let's be honest, that would ruin them, right? I give them a legacy that lives past me. So my son goes, daddy, all your friends have jet planes.

00;19;47;14 - 00;20;11;29
Speaker 2
I said, well, so we got a jet plane. He goes, really? Where is it that I said, it leads on the hour. Every hour is called southwest. And I said, what the you by no jet plane because of your dad's funeral. You're going to take the microphone and talk about that. Your daddy fed millions of people, built 50 orphanages around the world, and that will make you more proud than saying your dad had a G5.

00;20;12;01 - 00;20;29;10
Speaker 2
So it's about legacy Tim and it's about the culture. What culture do I want to have in my family dealership? Maybe I'm even in a publicly traded organization. How can I make the community a better place? It starts with you and what you're willing to do to change the culture.

00;20;29;12 - 00;20;57;27
Speaker 1
It's incredible. And quite frankly, what led me to getting excited and I and this is all leadership and this is all, it all leads to leadership on how you lead, whether it's your family or whether you where you lead your dealership. But, you know, I told you this story. You know, we my wife and I and my and my kids, since 2018, it's like, every other year we get punched in the face, like my house burned down in 2018.

00;20;57;27 - 00;21;23;10
Speaker 1
My dad had a stroke in 2020. My mom had cancer in 2022, died in 2023. And you know, my partner like all these things happen and you start feeling sorry for yourself. But at the same time, you have to lead at the same time. You have to put that face on and encourage your people. And then I went on your story, and I started listening to all the things and hearing what you and your wife and your family went through.

00;21;23;16 - 00;21;48;24
Speaker 1
And I felt horrible about feeling bad for my stuff because, like, you went through worse stuff than I ever went through. So. So how do you and I believe, you know, God puts people in our lives that have walked through those minefields to to tell the story of how they got there and how they got through. And that's the way when I when I sent your story to my wife, she's like, oh my gosh, like it encouraged her and she never met you or your family.

00;21;48;24 - 00;22;12;27
Speaker 1
But but in your words going, you've gone through things that that a lot of people hopefully. But but a lot of people do go through but haven't gone through. How do you stay resilient, love your family, encourage them, but then go to work every day and and pull people up and pour into people and grow and incredible. One of the largest, dealer groups in the country.

00;22;12;29 - 00;22;34;04
Speaker 2
So what would you're talking about is, is for the listeners, my wife and I buried two boys at birth. So the hardest thing you will ever do as a parent is bury a child's. So we were diagnosed with Potter's syndrome, which is where in the embryo there's no kidneys, no kidneys. Kidneys create amniotic fluid that allows a young to the lungs to grow.

00;22;34;07 - 00;22;56;29
Speaker 2
So both boys oh four and oh six right, right, right. Middle Katrina live one hour and the other one live seven hours. And in that pain because you're pain can become your purpose, or your pain can become your problem. So I decided that we were going to make it our purpose. So we adopted. I have a little Chinese dark Ana.

00;22;57;02 - 00;23;19;21
Speaker 2
I call them my Cajun Asian. Right. So we adopted and I had three other beautiful children. So we decided that moment that we wanted to make a difference. So we went to China to pick her up. We saw really how they treat these kids. And I felt like, wow, we got to do something different. So that's why you look at our pain, which is the child losing the boys and naming that purpose.

00;23;19;21 - 00;23;43;16
Speaker 2
So now we build hope homes around the world. So we build hope homes in Moscow, Russia, Honduras, Gambia, Africa, in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Brazil. I built in Ukraine with Ukraine two years ago, which was crazy. And this past year we went to Manila. So you think of all the people who make money on me Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan, Honda.

00;23;43;18 - 00;24;08;08
Speaker 2
Right. Ally Bank, Capital One Bank, Cox Automotive, Manheim, all those people support Giving Hope when we build Hope Homes. So the beautiful thing is that we decided to take our pain and make it our purpose. So understand, when I told my son at my funeral, you're not going to talk about the G5, the 200ft boat, you're going to talk about the 50 orphanages that your family built and that that's my purpose.

00;24;08;08 - 00;24;24;04
Speaker 2
So that's kind of what that went through. And I would tell anybody who's going to, you know, listen, your pain can become your purpose. If you look at how can I make the world a better deal, better place for what I've gone through? So think of it. I lost two boys. I could have easily went off the deep end.

00;24;24;11 - 00;24;45;11
Speaker 2
Could have. I just started drinking like a fish. Going to easy. Sold every dealership I had and I said no, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to do something crazy. So every year I build an orphanage. And that's crazy. Tim. That didn't change either, my friend. I mean, you Giving Hope this year will give away $20 million of food.

00;24;46;21 - 00;25;05;02
Speaker 2
So understand that God has empowered me and he's given me a large, responsible. And I don't take that lightly. But I've now made it my purpose. Because really, what I could have done, Covid is sold everything I had and my grandkids would never work a day in their life. Right now. That that's not what I'm called to do.

00;25;05;04 - 00;25;18;13
Speaker 2
Remember, find the injustice that angers you or the passion that inspires you because that's what you're called to. I'm called to feed people who cannot provide, and I'm called to help the orphans.

00;25;19;06 - 00;25;45;27
Speaker 1
I'm really very seldom if you asked my wife am I speechless, but, What what an incredible way to kick off 2025. Listen, what is your purpose today? Every look, we all go through stuff. We as leaders, I'm speaking to leaders. In fact, as the podcast continues to grow, I can't go. Everywhere I go. Somebody is talking about this podcast or that podcast, and and you never know if you're making a difference.

00;25;45;27 - 00;26;14;23
Speaker 1
And the whole idea was, you know, I at least me, I was a pretty good car guy, but I was head down at my desk. Desking deals, buying cars, cleaning, do it. I never got out and around to see what the great ones and how they were, you know, building dealer groups and and leading their people. And we wanted to put something, that you could easily listen to in your commute or wherever to where hopefully it made you better, than you were when you got here.

00;26;14;23 - 00;26;39;05
Speaker 1
So hopefully we've done that today. You're listening to Troy. What an incredible story of an unfortunate pain, but turning the pain into purpose. And, you know, in life, sometimes when these bad things happen, I've been guilty of it myself. We speak, as I say, victimees. We start speaking, we become a victim, we speak victimese, and, oh, we get the joke.

00;26;39;06 - 00;27;00;02
Speaker 1
Yeah. Oh, well, why is this happening to me and not understanding? What can I learn through this? What are you teaching me through this? So. Right. Because again, nobody gets out of here alive. What are people going to be say to you? What an incredible way to display that, to your son and what an incredible legacy that you've already left and are leaving.

00;27;00;14 - 00;27;13;06
Speaker 1
Brother, I love you, man. I thank you for the time, that that that to be able to share your story. I'm going to give you the mic, before we we land the plane. Any any closing thoughts? Yeah, sure. Before we land.

00;27;13;08 - 00;27;44;14
Speaker 2
I would tell your listeners, you know, 2025 could be the greatest year of your life. If you're willing to love unconditionally, don't love someone because you want something in exchange. Learn to love with no conditions. Learn to give when it hurts. Not your money. Everybody think that your money. What about your time? Yeah. You ought to see the parents who send me letters and texts and emails and call me because their children volunteer at our food bank.

00;27;44;22 - 00;28;08;02
Speaker 2
Because you're 15, 16, seven, your kids. And to be right now, sometimes if you just give of your time where your coworkers, your employees and your family see you giving, watch what happens when you make those two changes in 2025. Unconditional love with no expectations and learn to give 2025 could be the greatest year of your life.

00;28;08;04 - 00;28;27;29
Speaker 1
Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the one and only is the one and only Troy Duhon. One of my new heroes. Just incredible human being. Incredible organization. And I am going to do everything I can do to give back to serve you and your team. To continue that that mission. Brother, I appreciate you. Thank you so much.

00;28;28;17 - 00;28;52;08
Speaker 1
For everything that you've done. Ladies and gentlemen, you have been listening to Tim Talks leadership in the dealership. We're so thankful, that you took a few minutes as this podcast continues to grow. If you're hearing it on YouTube, please just go and hit that subscribe button. No matter where you get your podcast podcasts. As we continue to try to grow, as we always say, no one is smarter than everyone.

00;28;52;10 - 00;28;55;25
Speaker 1
Y'all. Let's just keep getting better together. We'll see you next time.

00;28;55;27 - 00;29;04;09
Unknown
Bye bye. 

00;29;04;12 - 00;29;04;24
Unknown