From The Ground Up Show - Entrepreneur and Leadership Success Stories from Blue Collar, and Unconventional Career Paths · From The Ground Up Show with Erick Loden

Bob Zimmerschied - Built the Hard Way: Work Ethic, Faith, and the Making of an Entrepreneur

March 17, 2026·1 hr 57 min·5 clips

Bob Zimmerschied reads the Charles Swindoll quote on attitude that he put in every employee's paycheck for 50 years.

Farm responsibilities came early. The guest talks about breaking horses, milking cows, running farm machinery, and learning to drive in his dad's 49 Chevy pickup. He calls it a blessing, but it does not land like misty nostalgia. It sounds more like the kind of education that starts before a kid is ready and sticks anyway. The host asks whether opportunity still exists now, and the answer comes out of years with teenagers on the payroll, then some of those employees' kids coming through too. Attitude is where the guest keeps landing. He put Charles Swindoll's piece on attitude in his store manuals because he wanted workers to take it seriously, not just nod at it. Integrity sits right beside it. His point is plain enough: a young person who shows up willing, honest, and ready to work still has something to offer. The host does not polish it into a speech. He admits opportunity may look different now, while still seeing room in industries for people with creativity, grit, integrity, and drive. The farm memories matter because they keep the lesson from floating away. Horses, cows, machinery, fence posts, and that old pickup make the business talk feel earned. Family stays close too. The guest mentions his son having difficulties in transition and connects that struggle to his own slow learning and curiosity. Blessed language gets room without taking over. The episode closes with the usual ask to like, share, subscribe, follow, comment, leave a five-star review, and auto-download. Then it lands on the show's plain signoff: keep grinding.

As heard by us

A grounded farm and work story about attitude, integrity, and staying the course.

Bob Zimmerschied's story stays focused on farm work, early responsibility, and the lessons that came with both. He talks about driving a 49 Chevy pickup, learning animals and machinery young, and returning again and again to the idea that attitude and integrity matter.

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Why you'd press play

You want a straight-talk farm-to-work story about grit, responsibility, and earning trust.

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