Your life doesn’t move by intention. It moves by proximity.
Proximity with Ken Joslin is the flagship podcast from Ken Joslin, founder of Grow Stack Drive (GSD) and the CREATE Conference, the leading faith-based entrepreneur conference in America.
Based on Ken’s upcoming book, The 14 Frequencies of Proximity, this podcast explores how the people you surround yourself with, the rooms you enter, and the voices you trust determine the direction, momentum, and outcomes of your life.
Each episode delivers practical, no-fluff conversations around leadership, faith, discipline, relationships, health, business, and finances—through the lens of intentional proximity.
Drawing from Ken’s journey from full-time ministry to elite real estate and building the GSD ecosystem and CREATE Conference, the show equips leaders and entrepreneurs to stop drifting, take responsibility, and curate environments that produce clarity, alignment, and lasting impact.
This isn’t motivation.
This is alignment.
This is intentional growth.
If you’re ready to change your circle, elevate your standards, and build a life of purpose and significance—this podcast is for you.
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Titles can get you a seat, but they cannot make people trust you. Ken Jocelyn calls servanthood “the leadership frequency” and puts it in plain language: the greatest leader in history led with a towel, not a title. Using Matthew 20:28 as the anchor, we talk about why real influence is earned through humility, consistency, and choosing to serve when nobody is watching.
We get practical fast with a clear servant leadership framework built on three habits: put other people’s needs before your own, do things right the first time, and do things without being asked. Ken shares personal stories that make those ideas feel usable, from serving a friend through a difficult travel day to a daily routine of teaching his kids what servant leadership looks like in real life. If you care about leadership development, team culture, and trust, these behaviors are simple, measurable, and hard to fake.
You will also hear how servanthood scales in the workplace, including a story of earning followership through service and initiative, not age or position. Then we land the plane with concrete action steps: ask someone “How can I help you win this week?” and follow through, run a time, talent, and treasure audit, start serving at home first, and identify your strengths so you can deploy them for someone else’s win.
Subscribe to Proximity, share this with a leader who needs a reset, and leave a review if it helps you lead with more humility and more impact.
Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Proximity. I am your host, Ken Jocelyn. Super excited to talk about frequency number 11, servanthood. And I call servanthood the leadership frequency. Guys, the ultimate leader was Jesus. And what did he do? He was a servant. And I want to jump
today. I want to jump in Matthew chapter 20 and verse 28 and walk through this scripture. And these are Jesus' words. He said, The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. The greatest leader in history led with a towel and not a title. The greatest leader in history, led with a title, led with a towel and not a title.
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Think about that. The God who spoke the world into existence.
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The God who literally sacrificed himself, whose death, burial, and resurrection serves as payment and sacrifice for the sins of those of us who place our faith and trust in him. That God, the one who will return one day, said in Matthew 20, 28, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. The greatest leader in history, led with a towel, not a title. And gosh, I could go, I don't even, I could go and I could go some different directions with this right here. Just speaking to the church in general. Some of the greatest pastors of some of the greatest churches in America that I have got had the opportunity to do life with behind the curtain, if you will, are some of the most humble men that I've ever been around. And in the the age of social media, and in the age of everybody trying to make themselves look like they're just freaking amazing. Isn't it refreshing to look back at the at Christ and look back at his own words? The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. He led with a towel, not a title. Guys, servanthood is the leadership frequency that earns authority that no title can give. Let me repeat that. Servanthood is the leadership frequency that earns authority that no title can
give. One of my good friends, we took his son to a basketball game in Houston. Son had an accident, paralyzed, ETV accident, paralyzed from his chest down for the past couple years. And he was sharing this at our proximity event a couple weeks ago. And I didn't think about it. I was just, I just did what I wanted to do for my friend because I loved him and I loved his son. And we we get to Houston and, you know, we had to literally pick Kate up and put him in the in the first class seat, in the front seat, and pick him back up, put him back in his chair at the very end, and we're wheeling through the airport, and Jim's got him. And so I just took all their luggage. So I was just wheeling their luggage and he took a picture of me. And he shared that a couple weeks ago in proximity. It meant the absolute world to me.
Guys, I I literally I walked off a stage, opportunity in in Michigan 20 some odd years ago. I don't know, 8,000, 8,800 people, almost 9,000 people. And one of my mentors, it's in my book, one of my mentors said, Ken, do you want to? She said, ask me a question. She goes, Do you want to be significant or do you want to be successful? And she spent some time at lunch the next day explaining to me what the difference in significant leaders versus successful leaders was. And so out of that, I created what I called the three characteristics of a servant leader. And that's what I want to talk to you about today. Because the best leaders serve first. God's impact flows from humility and heart. When we serve others before ourselves, when we practice these three characteristics of servant leadership, it will change your life. And service and being able to serve is a cornerstone value of who we are at GSD. It's not just a slogan, it is the strategy. It is the strategy. Every time we get together, and guys, whether it be creating hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people, or whether it be a mastermind with 50 to 100 people, whether it be a proximity event with 70 people, whether it be just a small group of people and we're having dinner
and it may be just one table full of people, everything that we do is filtered through this frequency. Can I live a life of servant leadership? And so I want to talk about the three things that servant leaders do. Because servanthood, guys, is an intentional investment of your time. It's an intentional investment of your talent. It's an intentional investment of your treasure into other people. So three characteristics of a servant leader. I'm going to share this. So my oldest daughter is 30. If you follow me on social media at all, at Ken Jocelyn, you're going to see my grandbaby. My granddaughter is the most ridiculously gorgeous little girl on the planet. She's two and a half. She's sassy just like her mama. She acts just like her mama, but she is absolutely the most beautiful, precious thing on the planet. Well, when her mom was in kindergarten, they used to drop her off at school every day. I owned my mortgage company back then. I dropped Holly off at school. And I did this with all four of my daughters. Drop them off at school. Before they got out of the car, I'd look at him and say, baby, what's a servant leader? She would look at me, she's kindergarten now. Daddy, servant leaders do three things. They put other people's needs before their own. They do things right the first time, and they do things without being asked. I said, Okay, baby. They do things right the first time, they do things without being asked, and they put other people's needs before their own. And so when I picked them up at the end of the day, they would get in the car and I would say, okay, baby, tell me how you were a servant leader today. And they did this their entire school life, as long as dad was taking them back and forth to school, which was the majority of the time. Drop them off in the morning. Okay, girls, tell me what servant leaders are. And when I had more than one in the car, each of them would give me one. Dad, servant leaders put other people's needs before their own. And that's that is Jesus. That is the leadership frequency that earns authority that no title can give, guys. Like literally the greatest leader in the world, led with a towel and not a title. Daddy, servant leaders put other people's needs before their own. Servant leaders do things right the first time. Servant leaders do things without being asked. They'd get in the car at the end of the day. I'll never forget one time. They got in the car. This was Friendship Elementary in Flowery Branch, Georgia. And I pick them up that day, and I'll never forget. This may have been Sarah Beth. And Miss Green was her teacher. And I said, Okay, baby, how were you a servant leader today? Daddy, Miss Green's trash can was full. And I went up and asked her if I could take it out before she had to ask somebody in the class. Like they knew all day long. We taught them and trained them all day long. How can I be a servant leader today? Because I know when I get in a car this afternoon, Daddy's gonna ask me, how was I a servant leader today? So when we talk about servanthood, now servanthood, guys, is the leadership frequency. You want to be a leader, grab a towel, don't chase a title. You want to be a leader, how can I serve other people? How can I put other people's needs before my own? What did Jesus do? He literally laid his life down. Scripture says, no greater love has a man that he would lay his life down for another. You want to talk about servant leadership? He was the ultimate servant leader. So drop him off at school. Tell me the three things servant leaders do. Great. Pick them up from school, tell me how you were a servant leader. I remember one day Emma, she just turned 18 a couple weeks ago. Emma, dude, she is, she's a she's a knucklehead. Emma, I guess she got in the car one day and it's hot. Like, and I don't know about you guys, but in Atlanta, it's hot and sweaty. Like it's just hot and sweaty, not hot and humid, it's hot and sweaty. Because when it's hot, you're sweating. And she gets in the car one day and they've been playing at recess and she's face is beat red and she's still sweating. I'm like, baby, how were you a servant leader today? Oh, daddy, one of my friends came in. We came off the playground. I was super thirsty, but I let them cut in front of me in the water line and get water before me. I said, baby, that is a servant leader.
And so one of the amazing things, one of the amazing things that I saw throughout my life, my Holly, my oldest, graduated high school, went over to Highlands College in Birmingham and went through Highlands College program, which is the foremost leadership, I would say, academy on the planet for kids who want to do ministry. And so they built a brand new Chick-fil-A, right? They're off of 119 and 280 in Inverness, Birmingham area. And she starts working at this Chick-fil-A, and she just keeps getting promoted. And she keeps getting promoted, she keeps getting promoted, and she keeps getting promoted. And she's like 19, 20 years old. She's young. And one, one day, the store owner comes in, the operator, like he has two Chick-fil-A stores, comes in and he goes, How in the world are you getting these people in your the front end, like kitchen manager, drive-through, front, you know, where you order at? How are you getting all these people to follow you? And she goes, Well, my dad taught me the principle of being a servant leader. And he's like, Tell me more. She's like, Well, servant leaders do three things. They put other people's needs before their own. They do things that are right the first time, and they do things without being asked. Well, she sends me a picture that day. I still have it on my phone. It's in my favorites. It's a picture of, you know, the aluminum area, stainless steel area right there where they slide the chicken nuggets down and little boxes of the little hash browns and the chicken sandwiches and all this stuff where they slide it from the kitchen down in the front where they can bag it and put it and give it to the drive-thru or give it to the people waiting at the at the front cashier's place. And she sends me this picture and written in a Sharpie marker. Three characteristics of a servant leader. They put other people's needs before their own, number one. Number two, they do the, they do the they do the right thing. Number three, they do things without being asked. And literally, there are the three characteristics of a servant leader that I have been teaching my daughter for 16 years, 15, 16 years. And there they are at this Chick-fil-A in Birmingham because that operator said, How in the world are you getting these guys, these people, to follow you? Super easy. Sir, my dad taught me three characteristics of a servant leader.
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Put other people's needs before your own, do things right the first time, and do things without being asked. So here's what I want to ask you this week.
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What or who in your life are you displaying or living out these three servant, these three characteristics of a servant leader? If you went, if you went and polled your team at work or your wife or your kids, would they say, Yes, my dad, my mom, my brother, my sister lives out the life of a servant leader? Would they say, yes, they lean more into leading with a towel than a title?
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So ask yourself that question. We're gonna take a quick break. I'll be back in just a minute.
Okay, guys, let's talk about this this week. I'm gonna give you four things as we kind of how do I apply this servant leadership, being a servant leader? How do I, how do I apply these three characteristics of a servant leader? Number one, and I said mentioned this just a minute before the break, but I want you to ask your team or a client this week, how can I help you win this week and then follow through? You're like, Ken, I got a lot of stuff to do. I get it. Again, Jesus led with a towel, not a title. Ask your team or your client this week, how can I help you win this week, and then follow through? That's number one. Number two, run the time, talent, and treasure audit. Where is each one currently invested? And how does it match the people God has sent in your life? Run the time, talent, and treasure audit. Where is each one currently invested? And how does it match the people that God has placed in your life? Number three, how is or how are you serving at home first? How are you serving at home first? Do you practice these three characteristics of a servant leader at home? Do you put your family's needs before your own? Do you do things right the first time? And do you do things without being asked? Or husbands, when your wife does say do something, I'll get it in a minute, or do you do it immediately? I'll get it in a minute. It used to be one of my favorite things I used to say, until I realize I can't tell my kids to be servant leaders if dad's not a servant leader. So ask your team or client this week, how can I help you win? Then follow through. Then run the time, talent, and treasure audit. Out of my time, out of my talent, out of my treasure. I share this. I share this in the authenticity and how I built relationships with some of the most amazing humans on the planet. I'm going to invest my time. I'm going to invest my talent. Who do you who do I know that you need to know to help you fulfill what God's called you to do? And how can I invest my resources into what you're doing to help you and to help you fulfill what you have been called to fulfill? Serve at home first. How can I serve? How can I, how can I literally emulate a servant leader lifestyle in my home? If I went and asked my wife, my kids, or my husband and my children, if you're a female entrepreneur, guys, how do how does mom or dad really, really do when it comes to putting other people's needs before their own? How do I really do when it comes to doing things right the first time? How do I really do when it comes to doing things without being asked? Then the last one is name your top talents. You can go to Strength Finders, you can go to, you can go to Predictive Index, you can go to Pat Lincioni's. Oh my goodness, if it's not Genius Network, that's the wrong thing. Pat Lincioni's look it up. It's it's his assessment. But it but it will tell you what your talents are. Pick one of those talents this week and place or deploy them for somebody else to be able to win this week. What's your talent? What are you gifted at? How can I take that and help somebody else win this week? Guys, there is not a day that goes by when I'm not connecting somebody via text message to somebody else that I've met to be able to help them win. What are you, what's your talent? What's your secret sauce? What's your superpower? My superpower is connecting people. So for me, when I meet somebody, I go, you need to know this person. And I will immediately text them. Now, if it's somebody like Gary, somebody like Ed Mallette, somebody that's got, you know, has a large platform. I'll ask for permission first. Hey, are you okay? Or how would you like for me? I've got this person and they they're boom, boom, boom, and I'll explain kind of the need or they ask, how would you like for me to connect them? Whether it's and they'll tell me, hey, email, nope, just go ahead and shoot them a text, just put us in a group text, whatever that looks like. So encourage, excuse me, encourage you to do that. Ask your team or your client, run the time, talent, and treasure audit. Where is each one invested? How does it match the people that God placed in my life? How do I serve at home? And then whatever your top talent is, how do I deploy it in someone else's life to help them win this week? Guys, servanthood is the leadership frequency. The towel will always take you further than the title. Serving first is how influence is earned. Influence is leadership. And you've heard John Maxwell say this forever. If you think you're a leader and no one's following, you're only out taking a walk.
Guys, thank you so much for joining us again this week on Proximity. Listen, I'd love for you to go to grossstatrive.com forward slash 14. That's grosstackdrive.com forward slash 1 4. Our book will be ready for pre-order on Amazon, Books a Million, Barnes and Nobles, all over the place. October the 12th or October the 14th, 15th, and 16th will be our book launch. We're doing a three-day live event, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern every day. I've got some amazing speakers coming into our studio in Atlanta. We'll have an in-person studio audience of about 75 people. I've got a lot of friends coming to Alpharetta to speak live. I've got an MC, my buddy Jake Hamilton's coming in to lead worship. And I've got a lot of friends who are doing, who are doing 15 to 20 minute talks. Gary Brecca, Jake Hamilton, Dave Meltzer, a lot of amazing, amazing friends. Sharon Lecter, a lot of amazing human beings coming in on this three-day book launch to help us get these principles and these frequencies in the hands of the world. Guys, again, thank you so much for joining me on Proximity. I cannot wait to see you next week. We're going to talk about culture. And culture is the anchor frequency. It's the frequency that holds everything together when your business and when your life gets under pressure, because it will. Love you guys. I'll see you next week.
