Stop Giving Your Best To Everyone Else ft. Thomas Rhett

Thomas Rhett 0:00 I wanna be known and loved the most by the people that love and know me the most.

Jefferson Fisher 0:03 Mm. Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 0:04 You know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 0:04 That's so good.

Thomas Rhett 0:05 And it's like you're-

Jefferson Fisher 0:05 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 0:06 ... your best self in front of complete strangers.

Jefferson Fisher 0:08 Right.

Thomas Rhett 0:08 But you're your worst version of yourself in front of the people that admire and respect you the most.

Jefferson Fisher 0:12 Or my family getting the best version of me, and that's like-

Thomas Rhett 0:15 Buddy.

Jefferson Fisher 0:15 Mm.

Thomas Rhett 0:16 That is the whole, the world loves to talk about work-life balance.

Jefferson Fisher 0:20 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 0:21 I don't believe in it.

Jefferson Fisher 0:22 Yeah. [laughs] Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 0:22 I don't.

Jefferson Fisher 0:23 What do you believe?

Thomas Rhett 0:24 I believe that you have to sort of be 100% committed where your feet are.

Jefferson Fisher 0:31 Now, I have to say congratulations.

Thomas Rhett 0:33 Thank you. For what?

Jefferson Fisher 0:34 Your, your son.

Thomas Rhett 0:34 My son.

Jefferson Fisher 0:35 That's right.

Thomas Rhett 0:35 Yes.

Jefferson Fisher 0:35 The biggest thing that could be going on right now. [laughs] Like, the number one thing that could be going on now.

Thomas Rhett 0:39 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 0:39 Just like how is it being, uh... have a, have a son now?

Thomas Rhett 0:43 Dude, it's incredible. I mean, you know, when... I feel like when babies are under six months, it's hard to r- fully tell personality-

Jefferson Fisher 0:51 Yeah, for sure

Thomas Rhett 0:51 ... or anything. But he's, like, he's eight weeks, and he's, like, one of those babies... He, he was huge. He was 10 pounds when he came out.

Jefferson Fisher 0:57 Nice. Okay.

Thomas Rhett 0:58 And now he's, like, 13 pounds. And so he's, like, he's already doing things that a five-month-old should be doing at eight weeks, which is wild.

Jefferson Fisher 1:05 That's awesome.

Thomas Rhett 1:05 Like, he's smiling. He's, like, eye contacting. Like, I feel like his little personality is coming out, and I don't remember my other kids having that much personality at eight weeks old.

Jefferson Fisher 1:14 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 1:15 He's already in, like, six to nine-month clothing.

Jefferson Fisher 1:16 That's what I'm talking about.

Thomas Rhett 1:17 It's unbelievable.

Jefferson Fisher 1:18 Nice.

Thomas Rhett 1:18 I think he's gonna be a linebacker.

Jefferson Fisher 1:19 For sure.

Thomas Rhett 1:20 He did not get that from me. I don't really know what gene that came from.

Jefferson Fisher 1:23 It came from somebody.

Thomas Rhett 1:24 Yeah. I was a nice, like, slot receiver.

Jefferson Fisher 1:25 [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 1:26 You know what I mean?

Jefferson Fisher 1:26 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 1:27 145 pounds.

Jefferson Fisher 1:28 Right.

Thomas Rhett 1:28 He's probably gonna be huge. But, um-

Jefferson Fisher 1:29 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 1:30 ... it's been amazing, bro. I, I'll be honest with you. For the first 10 years of being a parent, I just sort of accepted the fact that we weren't gonna have a boy, and, and I was-

Jefferson Fisher 1:36 Mm

Thomas Rhett 1:36 ... good with it.

Jefferson Fisher 1:36 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 1:36 Like, I, um, I always wanted a boy, but the more girls we started having, I was like, "I can, I can do this, this girl thing."

Jefferson Fisher 1:42 Yeah, you have four. You have four.

Thomas Rhett 1:43 Four daughters.

Jefferson Fisher 1:43 That's right.

Thomas Rhett 1:44 Yep. And, uh, man, I just, um... I don't know. I, I just never thought it was in the cards. And, uh, this, you know, obviously last year, the Lord kinda opened up some wild doors for us, and we got pregnant. And I think Lauren r- has it, my wife Lauren, has it-

Jefferson Fisher 2:00 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 2:00 ... in her phone of, like, 20 different people that called her before we got pregnant and during our pregnancy that said, "Hey"... Even people she hadn't talked to in a long time. They're like, "Hey, I just had this crazy dream that-

Jefferson Fisher 2:10 Just this-

Thomas Rhett 2:11 ... you're pregnant with a boy."

Jefferson Fisher 2:12 That's awesome.

Thomas Rhett 2:12 Like, 20 recorded dreams. Like, our kids had some. Our friends had some. And so we all, like... We didn't find out until the day of the birth, which we've never done that on any of the other kids. And for all of you listening, I highly recommend it.

Jefferson Fisher 2:22 Really?

Thomas Rhett 2:23 Yeah, because there's no surprises in this world at all.

Jefferson Fisher 2:25 That's, like, the most ultimate surprise.

Thomas Rhett 2:26 It's the ultimate surprise. Um, and so watching a little boy come out was, um, was one of the coolest moments of my life. Um-

Jefferson Fisher 2:32 That's awesome, man

Thomas Rhett 2:33 ... but it's, it's awesome.

Jefferson Fisher 2:34 Super-

Thomas Rhett 2:34 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 2:34 ... super happy for y'all.

Thomas Rhett 2:35 Thanks, bro.

Jefferson Fisher 2:36 That's fantastic. So my, I, my son, uh, is eight.

Thomas Rhett 2:39 Okay, cool.

Jefferson Fisher 2:40 And I know is... Now your son, how many months now?

Thomas Rhett 2:43 Uh, two months.

Jefferson Fisher 2:44 Yeah. Okay. So I s- like, he's, you're, he's already at the perfect age to, like, talking to, to him about, like, the weather.

Thomas Rhett 2:49 Yeah, 100%.

Jefferson Fisher 2:49 And stuff of, like-

Thomas Rhett 2:50 Yeah. [laughs]

Jefferson Fisher 2:51 ... this-

Thomas Rhett 2:51 Yeah. [laughs]

Jefferson Fisher 2:51 First thing you gotta know as a dad-

Thomas Rhett 2:53 We talk about it a lot, yeah, with Nate

Jefferson Fisher 2:53 ... is, like, you gotta have the, the, the radar-

Thomas Rhett 2:55 Uh-huh

Jefferson Fisher 2:55 ... like, immediately. Like, my dad can just whip out the radar at any moment.

Thomas Rhett 2:58 For sure. Yeah, absolutely.

Jefferson Fisher 2:58 And just like, "Uh, this is a cell that's-

Thomas Rhett 3:00 [laughs] Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 3:00 ... coming, coming in.

Thomas Rhett 3:01 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 3:01 It's only gonna last a few minutes."

Thomas Rhett 3:02 Yep.

Jefferson Fisher 3:03 Yeah. [laughs] Like, you have to know weather. You have to know a few things about life.

Thomas Rhett 3:06 Sports. How to change an oil, you know.

Jefferson Fisher 3:08 That's true.

Thomas Rhett 3:08 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 3:09 And my d- my, my dad didn't. My dad was like, "This is how to handle stuff in the courtroom." But that was-

Thomas Rhett 3:14 Yeah, exactly.

Jefferson Fisher 3:14 Yeah. The, that was, that w- that was his way-

Thomas Rhett 3:16 So-

Jefferson Fisher 3:16 ... of an oil change.

Thomas Rhett 3:17 Yeah. So what was, uh... Can I ask you, am I allowed to ask you a question?

Jefferson Fisher 3:19 You can ask.

Thomas Rhett 3:20 I don't do podcasts a lot. Um-

Jefferson Fisher 3:21 I don't know if you know this, but we're just chilling.

Thomas Rhett 3:23 Okay, cool.

Jefferson Fisher 3:23 We're just, yeah, we're just having a conversation.

Thomas Rhett 3:24 So, like, when you grow up with a dad that's a lawyer-

Jefferson Fisher 3:26 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 3:26 ... did you ever win any argument, like, growing up? Like, if he ever, like, laid a law down or, like, a rule-

Jefferson Fisher 3:32 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 3:32 ... were you, did you ever try to, like, combat that rule, and did he come at you like lawyer dad or just dad?

Jefferson Fisher 3:38 Just dad.

Thomas Rhett 3:39 Okay. That's great.

Jefferson Fisher 3:40 Just dad.

Thomas Rhett 3:40 So he was able to disconnect the two.

Jefferson Fisher 3:43 No, they're one.

Thomas Rhett 3:44 [laughs] Okay.

Jefferson Fisher 3:44 They're like, they're like...

Thomas Rhett 3:45 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 3:45 So I'm, I'm a fifth-generation attorney, so-

Thomas Rhett 3:48 Wow

Jefferson Fisher 3:49 ... uh, just e- everybody throughout my family.

Thomas Rhett 3:51 Gotcha.

Jefferson Fisher 3:51 Through DAs, federal judges-

Thomas Rhett 3:53 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 3:53 ... you, you name it. And so you d- you didn't win an argument.

Thomas Rhett 3:57 Mm.

Jefferson Fisher 3:57 You just got taught a lesson. That's, that's what that was.

Thomas Rhett 4:00 You got a, you got a plea deal.

Jefferson Fisher 4:01 Yeah, yeah. You, yeah, exactly. [laughs] You got a plea deal. [laughs] That's a good way of putting it.

Thomas Rhett 4:04 Great.

Jefferson Fisher 4:05 And so he would teach me, not in terms of this is what you do. He used what they call the Socratic method-

Thomas Rhett 4:11 Mm

Jefferson Fisher 4:11 ... which in law school is you ask questions to teach the lesson.

Thomas Rhett 4:15 Whoa.

Jefferson Fisher 4:15 And so-

Thomas Rhett 4:16 Like Jesus.

Jefferson Fisher 4:16 E- exactly.

Thomas Rhett 4:17 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 4:17 So it was almost very parable-esque-

Thomas Rhett 4:19 Mm. I love that

Jefferson Fisher 4:19 ... where he would, instead of me getting upset, and what you would hope a dad would do-

Thomas Rhett 4:25 Mm

Jefferson Fisher 4:25 ... or a mom would, and, you know, get mad with you-

Thomas Rhett 4:27 Sure

Jefferson Fisher 4:27 ... or get mad at you.

Thomas Rhett 4:29 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 4:29 He didn't really show anger.

Thomas Rhett 4:31 Wow.

Jefferson Fisher 4:31 Like, he, he showed disappointment, of course.

Thomas Rhett 4:32 Which almost makes you even more mad.

Jefferson Fisher 4:33 Which was terrifying.

Thomas Rhett 4:35 Right. Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 4:35 You know? It was just be like, "Oh, my God."

Thomas Rhett 4:37 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 4:37 Pit in my stomach. But he used a lot of questions, and so he would always... His thing was he would teach me the other side of the argument.

Thomas Rhett 4:45 Mm.

Jefferson Fisher 4:46 So if I was mad at my mom about something-

Thomas Rhett 4:48 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 4:48 ... and I would wanna come to him, I'm not gonna find any comfort there.

Thomas Rhett 4:51 Sure.

Jefferson Fisher 4:51 He's gonna say, "Well, what do you think she's thinking in that moment?"

Thomas Rhett 4:54 Mm.

Jefferson Fisher 4:54 "Now, as your mom, what do you think sh- she's, what sh- what do you think she's afraid of right now?" Like, he would always-

Thomas Rhett 5:00 That is so good

Jefferson Fisher 5:00 ... flip it to the question.

Thomas Rhett 5:02 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 5:02 And it didn't feel good as a kid.

Thomas Rhett 5:03 Sure.

Jefferson Fisher 5:04 'Cause I'm like, "Come on," like, "yo, you don't understand."

Thomas Rhett 5:05 But now as a grown man, what a toolbox you have.

Jefferson Fisher 5:07 Oh, my gosh.

Thomas Rhett 5:08 With your kids. Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 5:08 Yeah. Now, now it's, I'm trying that with my son, and he-

Thomas Rhett 5:11 How's that going?

Jefferson Fisher 5:11 ... he's equally as-

Thomas Rhett 5:13 [laughs] Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 5:13 ... frust- frustrated about it. He doesn't, he doesn't really en-

Thomas Rhett 5:16 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 5:17 ... enjoy it. Now, like, with yours, you know, your dad's a songwriter.

Thomas Rhett 5:20 Mm-hmm.

Jefferson Fisher 5:20 Singer-songwriter.

Thomas Rhett 5:21 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 5:21 And did you feel like that was just pa- part of your natural calling? You saw it. You grew up with it. Like, I feel like your life is just a toy box of '90s country.

Thomas Rhett 5:31 100%.

Jefferson Fisher 5:31 Like, that's just, like, that's what you grew up in.

Thomas Rhett 5:33 Yeah. Definitely. I mean, my dad, I was born in, in Valdosta, Georgia. A really small town in south Georgia. We had more than a Chili's, I will say that.

Jefferson Fisher 5:40 Oh, nice.

Thomas Rhett 5:40 We had a little bit more than Chili's. Um-

Jefferson Fisher 5:41 So a m- a metropolis-

Thomas Rhett 5:42 Yeah, a metropolis

Jefferson Fisher 5:43 ... basically. Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 5:43 Um, and then when I was one, we moved to San Antonio.

Jefferson Fisher 5:47 Okay.

Thomas Rhett 5:48 And, uh, that was when my dad, my mom and dad went to UGA, University of Georgia. My dad played football there for a year, and then they had me at 19, and we moved to Texas. My dad did... You remember Fiesta Texas?

Jefferson Fisher 6:01 Do I remember Fiesta Texas?

Thomas Rhett 6:01 Okay, I just... Yeah, I didn't live there long enough to know if, like, everybody was like-

Jefferson Fisher 6:05 Oh, my God

Thomas Rhett 6:05 ... "You know Fiesta Texas." Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 6:07 My, my dad had ... A- attorneys have to have continuing legal education credit-

Thomas Rhett 6:11 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 6:11 ... every year.

Thomas Rhett 6:12 Mm-hmm.

Jefferson Fisher 6:12 And so, uh, which means it could be at a hotel or something.

Thomas Rhett 6:16 Okay.

Jefferson Fisher 6:16 Well, we didn't have enough money to, like, go on vacation.

Thomas Rhett 6:19 Right.

Jefferson Fisher 6:19 So what we did was if you went on the CLE and brought your family, then it got paid for by whatever the firm-

Thomas Rhett 6:24 Gotcha

Jefferson Fisher 6:24 ... and so we would stay at the Hill Country Hyatt-

Thomas Rhett 6:27 Mm-hmm

Jefferson Fisher 6:27 ... which was right next to Fiesta Texas.

Thomas Rhett 6:29 Gotcha.

Jefferson Fisher 6:29 And that was my vacation.

Thomas Rhett 6:30 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 6:30 Only vacation for a good solid 11 years.

Thomas Rhett 6:33 Solid.

Jefferson Fisher 6:33 Like, that was it.

Thomas Rhett 6:34 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 6:34 And it was fantastic.

Thomas Rhett 6:35 I bet.

Jefferson Fisher 6:35 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 6:35 I bet. I don't, I was too young to remember it, but what I'm, but I've seen pictures, and my dad basically got hired by some talent agency to basically go, uh, and do, like, George Strait covers-

Jefferson Fisher 6:45 [laughs] Nice

Thomas Rhett 6:46 ... at Fiesta Texas.

Jefferson Fisher 6:47 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 6:47 And so he did that, and I guess, like, someone was there that sort of thought he had talent, and so moved to Nashville when I was four. He signed a record deal with this company called Decca, and they, they're not a, they're not around anymore. But, um, so moved to Nashville at four, and so I grew up in a little town called Hendersonville, Tennessee-

Jefferson Fisher 7:03 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 7:03 ... which is, like, well, it used to be 20 minutes north of here. Now it's, like, an hour north of here.

Jefferson Fisher 7:08 The traffic.

Thomas Rhett 7:08 Traffic. Um, and so I grew up, you know, with a dad that in, during his, like, um, artist career, you know, he, he would tour 200, 250 days a year. I mean, just always gone.

Jefferson Fisher 7:20 Oh.

Thomas Rhett 7:20 And so, um, I would always ask my dad, like, "Can I go on the road? Can I go on the road? Can I go on the road?" And I, I'd been singing since I was, like, four. I mean, I could ... I was like a, a walking jukebox encyclopedia.

Jefferson Fisher 7:32 You had to have been. You had to have been.

Thomas Rhett 7:32 I knew every song, uh, on, on, on country radio. And, uh, my first instrument actually was the drums. I loved to play the drums, and so I loved getting on the bus with my dad to go play whatever, you know, fair or festival he was going to play.

Jefferson Fisher 7:45 Bet.

Thomas Rhett 7:45 And I would, I always, I would get up and play Sweet Home Alabama-

Jefferson Fisher 7:47 And you're the cute kid

Thomas Rhett 7:47 ... or Last Dance or Mary Jane's Last Dance on the drums.

Jefferson Fisher 7:49 No,

Jefferson Fisher 7:50 it's okay. Okay.

Thomas Rhett 7:50 Um, and I just remember being like, "This is awesome," you know?

Jefferson Fisher 7:54 [laughs] Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 7:55 Um, and, uh, and so that kind of morphed into, like, I had a couple little bands, you know, in fifth grade and stuff.

Jefferson Fisher 8:00 Like Fraggle Flip-Flops, right?

Thomas Rhett 8:00 We were, like, a, more like a punk rock band. Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 8:02 Kind of these.

Thomas Rhett 8:03 And, uh, my dad's, uh, brother was always a pr- production engineer/like front of house guy.

Jefferson Fisher 8:08 Mm-hmm.

Thomas Rhett 8:08 And so he recorded, uh, my very first album-

Jefferson Fisher 8:11 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 8:11 ... in my dad's living room. We recorded five songs. Uh, played one show-

Jefferson Fisher 8:15 Nice

Thomas Rhett 8:16 ... that 10 people attended. And, uh, I knew that I always sort of-

Jefferson Fisher 8:20 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 8:20 ... had that bug. I, I loved to, to just entertain people.

Jefferson Fisher 8:23 Right, right, right.

Thomas Rhett 8:23 Like, my sister and I would always, you know, uh, make up, like, little skits, and my dad would film them. We'd write scripts out and stuff. And so I always-

Jefferson Fisher 8:30 You have you and your sister?

Thomas Rhett 8:31 Huh?

Jefferson Fisher 8:31 You have ... How many siblings do you have?

Thomas Rhett 8:33 So I've got a wide range. So my, my sister is four years younger than me.

Jefferson Fisher 8:36 Okay.

Thomas Rhett 8:36 Uh, my parents divorced when I was nine.

Jefferson Fisher 8:38 Okay.

Thomas Rhett 8:38 Uh, both got remarried. Um, so my mom and my stepdad have a, a brother of mine who's 21 years old.

Jefferson Fisher 8:43 Okay.

Thomas Rhett 8:44 Just turned 21. And my dad and my stepmother have a six-year-old son.

Jefferson Fisher 8:48 Okay.

Thomas Rhett 8:48 So I, so I have-

Jefferson Fisher 8:49 That's quite a range

Thomas Rhett 8:49 ... it's all over the range.

Jefferson Fisher 8:50 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 8:51 Yeah. Um, but anyway, you know, going through high school and stuff, I always played. The talent shows, I was always, like, the lead in the, the Christmas play-

Jefferson Fisher 8:58 Yeah, yeah, yeah

Thomas Rhett 8:59 ... or whatever I did at school, and so I always loved to be on stage, and I just loved to make people smile and make people laugh and, and dance. And so, uh, but when I got to college, um, I never really thought I could make a career of it. And so I went to Lipscomb University here in Nashville.

Jefferson Fisher 9:13 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 9:14 Uh, was headed towards a communications degree.

Jefferson Fisher 9:17 Hey. [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 9:19 Um, but for me it was the fastest route out.

Jefferson Fisher 9:21 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 9:21 It was the easiest major they offered.

Jefferson Fisher 9:23 I did marketing just for, in business school for the same reason.

Thomas Rhett 9:25 Yeah, yeah. Exactly.

Jefferson Fisher 9:25 I'm like, "Just get me out of here, please."

Thomas Rhett 9:26 Yeah, get me out. Um, and then my sophomore year, uh, my dad had completely kind of quit his artistry career and just pursued full-time songwriting. And so him and a group of guys were having a lot of success, um, in, like, the early 2000s, sort of like when bro country sort of entered the world.

Jefferson Fisher 9:42 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 9:42 Like Luke Bryans and the Jason Aldeans and-

Jefferson Fisher 9:44 My Speakers Go Boom Boom kind of.

Thomas Rhett 9:46 The Speakers Go Boom Boom.

Jefferson Fisher 9:47 Yeah, yeah, yeah. That whole thing. [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 9:48 Yeah. Um, and so, like, they, they were called The Peach Pickers. That was their little writing group.

Jefferson Fisher 9:52 Oh, nice.

Thomas Rhett 9:52 And, not little. Their big writing group.

Jefferson Fisher 9:54 Right.

Thomas Rhett 9:54 And, uh, literally, dude, I mean, you couldn't turn on the radio for more than 20 minutes without hearing two or three songs that they had written for-

Jefferson Fisher 10:00 That's incredible

Thomas Rhett 10:00 ... for artists. It was nuts.

Jefferson Fisher 10:01 That's wild.

Thomas Rhett 10:01 And so, um, I, I was, like, in some cover bands in college, and then one day I just asked my dad, I was like, "Can I come sit in on these writing sessions? I just wanna-

Jefferson Fisher 10:10 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 10:10 ... I just don't understand it really. Like, I just wanna watch how y'all do this."

Jefferson Fisher 10:12 Right.

Thomas Rhett 10:12 And it really is just like this.

Jefferson Fisher 10:14 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 10:14 Hanging out. Somebody starts playing a little chord on the guitar, and you're like, "Hey, I had this idea that I wrote down on my phone yesterday."

Jefferson Fisher 10:20 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 10:20 And I'm just like, "Whoa, so this is how it works," and, um, offered up some of my, you know, terrible lyrics into the room. And, um, fast-forward a couple months, I played a gig downtown with my dad, and, uh-

Jefferson Fisher 10:30 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 10:30 ... there was a guy there that offered me a developmental publishing deal-

Jefferson Fisher 10:33 Nice

Thomas Rhett 10:34 ... because he thought I had some talent. And, um, from then on, dude, I started writing with a bunch of other people who were just getting going and got my first cut ever with Jason Aldean. It was like 2011.

Jefferson Fisher 10:43 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 10:44 On his My Kind of Party album, if you remember that record.

Jefferson Fisher 10:45 Right. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 10:47 Um, and, uh, and then I started to just get a bunch of cuts as a songwriter, and then one thing led to another. I started playing for record labels, got offered a few deals, and signed my first record deal at 21. Um, and here I am 16-

Jefferson Fisher 10:59 Was Goes like this-

Thomas Rhett 11:00 ... 16 years later

Jefferson Fisher 11:01 ... one of, like, the, the first ones that, like-

Thomas Rhett 11:02 That was my first number one song.

Jefferson Fisher 11:03 Okay, that's ... And you've had 20 number ones.

Thomas Rhett 11:04 25.

Jefferson Fisher 11:05 25?

Thomas Rhett 11:06 Nuts. Uh, it doesn't feel real, but-

Jefferson Fisher 11:08 Did you ever think that was gonna happen?

Thomas Rhett 11:09 No, absolutely not.

Jefferson Fisher 11:10 Yeah. [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 11:10 If you ask my wife, my wife was banking on it not working.

Jefferson Fisher 11:12 Yeah. [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 11:14 Um, she was like, "Tuh, this is cute."

Jefferson Fisher 11:15 Yeah, this is fun.

Thomas Rhett 11:15 You know what I mean? Yeah, go, go try your little record deal thing, you know?

Jefferson Fisher 11:18 Dude, okay, I love that because the first video I ever made, and you'll know, I make videos in my car.

Thomas Rhett 11:23 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 11:24 Uh, my wife said, "Go be my little influencer."

Thomas Rhett 11:26 Oh, come on.

Jefferson Fisher 11:26 That was, like, her first thing.

Thomas Rhett 11:27 [laughs]

Jefferson Fisher 11:27 And so, like, I feel like never-

Thomas Rhett 11:30 You gotta love that support, you know?

Jefferson Fisher 11:31 Yeah, yeah. You really, she really-

Thomas Rhett 11:32 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 11:32 ... was like, "Ugh." So there you go. She goes, "Go, go, go be-

Thomas Rhett 11:36 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 11:36 ... do your little artistry stuff."

Thomas Rhett 11:37 Yeah, so we did-

Jefferson Fisher 11:38 [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 11:38 ... we did, um, the premarital

Thomas Rhett 11:40 counseling, counseling deal, and we got married at 22 years old. And, uh, our marriage counselor, my wife graduated from University of Tennessee, uh, with a nursing degree. So-

Jefferson Fisher 11:48 Were y'all high school sweethearts?

Thomas Rhett 11:50 Sort of.

Jefferson Fisher 11:50 Were you-

Thomas Rhett 11:51 We, we'd known each other since first grade, and we-

Jefferson Fisher 11:52 Oh, okay. Okay

Thomas Rhett 11:53 ... we dated in high school a little bit, and then we broke up, and then-

Jefferson Fisher 11:56 Oh, one of those

Thomas Rhett 11:57 ... didn't, didn't get back together until a little bit later. Um-

Jefferson Fisher 11:59 We were high school sweethearts.

Thomas Rhett 12:00 Cool.

Jefferson Fisher 12:00 But it sounds like you, like, wander back and you're like, "It's always been you."

Thomas Rhett 12:05 It was always her.

Jefferson Fisher 12:05 It's always, it's always you.

Thomas Rhett 12:06 It was always her.

Jefferson Fisher 12:06 Yeah, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 12:06 It really was.

Jefferson Fisher 12:07 There we go.

Thomas Rhett 12:07 Um-

Jefferson Fisher 12:08 But y- so we got married at 22, and our marriage counselor advised Lauren to not pursue her, uh, her nursing thing for just one year. She was like, "I think y'all just really need to be together." 'Cause the first year of your touring is an absolute nightmare. Oh, I- You're gone- ... I can imagine. I mean, I think we played 280 shows that year or something. So my wife rode, uh, the bus with me and my seven other band dudes for an entire year. [laughs] And after that year was over, she was like, "I have put my time in." Yeah, yeah. [laughs] "I'm done- Yeah ... with the road." Um, but yeah, so I put two singles out before It Goes Like This that did okay. Um, but It Goes Like This was my first number one. The- And then, uh, man, wildly, like, I'm, like, thinking about it now. W- I think we only had one miss. Right? There, there's only one single I put out to radio. Is that right? What in? During the, in my whole career. Only one that didn't go number one? Correct. That's good. Well, besides the first two, yeah, there was one that I put out in the middle- [laughs] ... of my career that didn't go number one, but it, like, it streamed and sold like it was number one. That's unreal. I remember calling radio stations. Yeah. Being like, "Hey, can you play this song?" "Why aren't you playing this?" Yeah. Oh. [laughs] "What's the deal?" "What's wrong with this?" They were just like, "It's just a little, like, not, doesn't fit the box." And I was like- Yeah ... "All right. That's fair, you know?" Agree to disagree. Agree to disagree. Yeah. [laughs] Um, but that was a lot of the songs in my career, man. I, um, on my second record, dude, I put this song out called Crash and Burn that was just super, just not what country radio was playing at all. Yeah. And when that song went number one and a song called Make Me Wanna, I, it sort of carved this, like, weird unique lane for me- Mm-hmm ... where the songs were sort of so off kilter, but I think people recognized my voice. And so I, I've kinda made a living off of kinda always playing a little bit outside the lane of what, quote-unquote, you know, country radio is. Well, you've definitely, you've definitely found your own- Found the lane. Yeah. Before we keep going, I want to take a moment to tell you about Cozy Earth. One of the reasons I absolutely love Cozy Earth is because everything they make, truly the name holds up, is cozy. And I don't know about you, but I love to wear around-the-house loungewear. I also, you might see me at the grocery store in some loungewear. I just, I like it. I, if I don't have to dress up, that's what I'm going to. Well, Cozy Earth, their stuff is top-notch. It's only, not, it's not only made well, but it also feels really good, and it's something that I can throw on and know if I'm gonna go outside, do something with the kids, it's easy. And you know what helps when you're a busy dad and busy life or busy parent is easy. So you can go to cozyearth.com/jefferson, use the code Jefferson for up to 20% off. Uh, these are their pants. I absolutely love them. Cozyearth.com/jefferson. Use the code Jefferson for up to 20% off. And now let's keep going. I- Sure ... I'm gonna ask you a question that, this is a selfish question. Okay. So in a different life, I would've been a songwriter. Great. I love that, like- You still can be. Uh, this true. We're not done. And I can be a lawyer. There we go. Oh. Yeah. Let's go. We'll just switch. Okay. Switch trades. Uh, so I grew up James Taylor- Yeah ... Jim Croce. Like, that was singer-songwriter era. For sure. How does, when you're in that room for the first time, the, and with your dad and guys- Mm ... is it, like, super nerve-wracking when you're around people who know how to write songs, and you're like, [clears throat] "Actually, I think it might be cool to add in this," and they're like- Totally ... like, how, how did they, how did they politely kinda say no, but no or, like, h- how does that, walk me through that process. Yeah, but it still happens. Like, I was, I mean, I, I don't, I hate ... The, the t- the term professional I hold fully loosely- Yeah, yeah, yeah ... like, as a- Yeah ... singer or an artist. Yeah. [laughs] Um, but, uh- Yeah, walk me through that. What happens? Yeah. I mean, the thing that we do now- Mm ... is if we, if we hear a line from someone who even is a great songwriter- Mm-hmm ... and, and they say something, we're like, "Oh, that's cool," that's it. [laughs] Oh, that's- You know what I mean? That's your, okay. That's, like, the polite way of saying, "That's not the line." Yeah. Um- "Oh, that's cool. That's cool." "That's cool." Yeah. Anyway. [laughs] Uh, you know. Uh- I love that ... but, but when you're an unexperienced writer like I was in that room, even just having the courage to speak is ho- is horrifying. I mean, it's like- It has to be ... it's like stepping on the first tee box at Augusta. [laughs] No, I, I, it has to be. You know what I mean? Like, I think of, like, whenever I see, um, any bluegrass circles. Yeah. You know? And, man, if I was, I might have to jump in on a ... I, I would just be terrified- 100% ... if, like, you're, you're going in there. Like, there's no way. I will say that's more nerve-wracking. If you're just kind of an okay guitar player- Yeah ... hop- hopping in with a bunch of professional bluegrass players- Exactly ... I just wouldn't play. But in a writing room, so it's a, you have a little more, it's, it's different. It's a little bit ... Okay, it's more laid back. There's more grace there. Okay. Yeah, because you just physically can't be as good as- Yeah ... those bluegrass guys. I feel like in, in communication, we say, "Yeah, that's crazy," like, the n- things that aren't crazy, but we don't wanna say- That's, that's, that's useless to me ... most of my conversations with a stranger. You know what I mean? You don't wanna say, like, "That was kinda useless information. I don't know what to do with that." "Whoa, that's crazy." Yeah, yeah, "Oh, that's crazy." That means I could care less what we're saying. Yeah, that is exactly- Yeah ... that's, that's, uh, it's saying thank you for the nothing you just gave me- Uh-huh. Yeah ... is what it really is. Right. [laughs] But it's like [laughs] - Similar. It's very similar, yeah. Thank you for that help, that heaping help of nothing. But I do think with songwriting, everyone has their own unique style. I mean, just like in law, I would imagine- Sure ... not every lawyer goes about the courtroom the exact same way. Like- No ... it's like, and the same with parenting. Like- Right ... your dad definitely parented different than I'm parenting now, but I cannot wait to adopt the way that your dad parented- Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah ... into my children. Um, but in songwriting, dude, everybody just has their own style and their own brand, and unless you're writing with people that have the grace to allow you to say some stupid stuff- Yeah ... you're never gonna, you're never gonna get any better. That's true. You know what I mean? Because if you don't say it, it's definitely not gonna be put in the song. Yeah. So you might as well just say it. So we start off every session by saying, "Hello, there are no dumb ideas in this room." I like that. Yeah. 'Cause you almost have to leave the ego at the door- Yeah ... and come in. You're, you're going to go through a lot of terribleness in every session, I don't care how good you are- Yeah ... to get to something that's like this great. And I feel that's, you know, it's- It's life ... I would say that's life. Yes.

Jefferson Fisher 17:53 Right? Now, how do, how does ... I wanna pick that up for Here, Here You Are, the son, which hits different than girls, but you love your girls. Yeah. You love your son. You have all your kids. Yeah. For me, I feel like I've lived different lives- In each one, I learn just a little bit more. In each one, I get a little bit more proud of who I am and what I'm doing and how I, I'm showing up.

Thomas Rhett 18:15 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 18:15 Do you find, like, in th- th- this season, this stage of your life right now is your, is your favorite?

Thomas Rhett 18:22 Do I feel like this is my favorite?

Jefferson Fisher 18:23 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 18:24 Yes. Yeah, I mean, yes. I, I'm, I'm my most true self today than I have ever been.

Jefferson Fisher 18:30 Yeah, I love that.

Thomas Rhett 18:30 And I think you're, I think you're gonna say that, hopefully-

Jefferson Fisher 18:33 Always

Thomas Rhett 18:33 ... every decade.

Jefferson Fisher 18:34 Yeah, you don't wanna be like, "Oh, this is all right. Well, it was really good when I was-" [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 18:37 I was way better, dude, at 25 than I am now.

Jefferson Fisher 18:40 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 18:40 I think if, if, if you can't say that every few years, then you really have not, you're not, you're not doing any work-

Jefferson Fisher 18:45 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 18:46 ... on yourself. And I think it's, you have to do, you have to continue to work on yourself. I mean, I told my, my 10-year-old daughter the other night when we got into bed, and, um, she was saying something like, "Why are you..." I'm trying to remember how she phrased this. Like, "Why, why do I get in trouble for things, but, like, but, like, Lennon doesn't?" Our six-year-old.

Jefferson Fisher 19:02 Mm-hmm.

Thomas Rhett 19:03 And I'm like, "Baby, un- fortunately and unfortunately-

Jefferson Fisher 19:07 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 19:07 ... you are the oldest."

Jefferson Fisher 19:08 Right.

Thomas Rhett 19:08 Right? So with that comes great responsibility. With that comes, you're gonna do things before everybody else gets to do them. On the flip side of that, this is the first time I'm dealing with it.

Jefferson Fisher 19:17 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 19:17 You know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 19:18 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 19:18 I've never had a 10-year-old before.

Jefferson Fisher 19:19 Right.

Thomas Rhett 19:19 So I'm learning this in real time-

Jefferson Fisher 19:21 Right

Thomas Rhett 19:21 ... with you. You know what I'm saying? Um, y- 'cause you know the whole, like, model of, like, the, the youngest kid always got, like, less.

Jefferson Fisher 19:27 Dude, I'm the oldest of four.

Thomas Rhett 19:28 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 19:29 Yeah, yeah. I, I totally get that.

Thomas Rhett 19:30 You're kind of envious of your younger brothers and sisters-

Jefferson Fisher 19:31 For sure

Thomas Rhett 19:32 ... because they just-

Jefferson Fisher 19:32 And they were envious of me. You know.

Thomas Rhett 19:33 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 19:34 I couldn't wait to get my driver's license and just run to the store and get bread.

Thomas Rhett 19:37 Correct.

Jefferson Fisher 19:38 You know what I mean? But the youngest got to just-

Thomas Rhett 19:40 Totally

Jefferson Fisher 19:41 ... he, the, I, I... It was me who Saturday mornings had to go with Dad to go pick up sticks-

Thomas Rhett 19:46 Right

Jefferson Fisher 19:46 ... from the yard. They were still watching cartoons.

Thomas Rhett 19:48 But even think about how you hold your first child compared to how you hold your f- for me, my fifth child.

Jefferson Fisher 19:53 Oh, yeah. It's just-

Thomas Rhett 19:54 Like, my first child, it was like, [whispers] "Holy crap."

Jefferson Fisher 19:56 Yeah, you don't wanna...

Thomas Rhett 19:57 My fifth child, I'm like, "Hey. Hey."

Jefferson Fisher 19:59 Yeah. [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 19:59 "I'm mowing the grass. Come here." You know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 20:01 Yeah. [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 20:01 It's just like you-

Jefferson Fisher 20:02 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 20:02 ... every kid becomes less fragile, and you start-

Jefferson Fisher 20:04 Right

Thomas Rhett 20:04 ... to understand that, like, oh, these, these beings, these creatures-

Jefferson Fisher 20:07 All right

Thomas Rhett 20:07 ... they're so resilient and so much tougher than we ever give them credit for. Um-

Jefferson Fisher 20:10 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 20:11 ... but the, but, but the mental, emotional side of it is, like, with every kid, I feel like I just become more like, "Okay, I've experienced this problem before."

Jefferson Fisher 20:18 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 20:18 "We've been here. We've been through the lying. We've been through the deception. We've been through all-"

Jefferson Fisher 20:22 Mm-hmm

Thomas Rhett 20:22 ... this stuff.

Jefferson Fisher 20:22 Mm-hmm.

Thomas Rhett 20:22 To where now I'm like, "I know exactly how to deal with this with you."

Jefferson Fisher 20:25 Right.

Thomas Rhett 20:25 Whereas, like, the oldest kid, you're, you're literally learning it as they're learning it.

Jefferson Fisher 20:28 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 20:29 You know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 20:29 It's a blessing and a curse.

Thomas Rhett 20:30 There's some stuff of being a parent, so being the oldest child-

Jefferson Fisher 20:31 I agree

Thomas Rhett 20:31 ... which I am, too.

Jefferson Fisher 20:32 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 20:32 So.

Jefferson Fisher 20:32 And I think that's the same way with, um, marriage, man.

Thomas Rhett 20:36 100%.

Jefferson Fisher 20:37 So we've been... This will be 15 years for us.

Thomas Rhett 20:38 Cool.

Jefferson Fisher 20:39 And I was... I forgot who I was talking to.

Thomas Rhett 20:42 Congratulations, by the way.

Jefferson Fisher 20:42 Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thomas Rhett 20:43 That's a huge feat, yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 20:44 Um, but it has only been, even in these past two years, or I could say even in the last year or six months or whatever, always seems to be the better version.

Thomas Rhett 20:55 Totally.

Jefferson Fisher 20:56 Because... And I, I, who was it? I forgot, who was I talking to. The, of, who was like, "But y'all have been married 15 years." And I was like, "That doesn't mean you got it figured out."

Thomas Rhett 21:04 No.

Jefferson Fisher 21:04 Like, you s- you need, you need even more runway-

Thomas Rhett 21:07 100%

Jefferson Fisher 21:07 ... to try and figure things out. Like, it's not like, oh, well, you already have things figured out. No. I, I'm... And I have, I have to imagine this is, like, in, for you as a musician, like, you're singing about the things you're learning about-

Thomas Rhett 21:18 Sure

Jefferson Fisher 21:18 ... what you're going through right now. I get to teach things that I'm still learning.

Thomas Rhett 21:22 Totally.

Jefferson Fisher 21:22 Uh, conflict, how to handle disagreements.

Thomas Rhett 21:25 Mm-hmm.

Jefferson Fisher 21:26 I'm getting a, a daily lesson of that every day.

Thomas Rhett 21:28 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 21:28 And so it is, has to be this impression of you. Do you feel like there are times when it's easier to write it in a song than actually say it to her?

Thomas Rhett 21:38 Sometimes. Uh, but I wanna speak to something that you just said, because I feel like, I feel like that is why you are having the success that you're having, is because, yes, there are people that want to go to someone that has figured it all out.

Jefferson Fisher 21:50 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 21:51 But I think people relate so much more to someone that, like, has wisdom but is also actively going through the thing that they're talking about.

Jefferson Fisher 21:58 Right.

Thomas Rhett 21:59 You know what I mean? Like, being able to say, "I'm still battling with this, but yet here's some ways I'm working on it"-

Jefferson Fisher 22:06 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 22:06 ... is now palatable for the person that has not even begun to work on it.

Jefferson Fisher 22:09 Uh, I totally agree with that.

Thomas Rhett 22:11 You know what I mean?

Jefferson Fisher 22:11 Yeah, absolutely. It's like s- a lot of the times I feel like the world can just focus on the battle you've been.

Thomas Rhett 22:16 For sure.

Jefferson Fisher 22:16 The, the battle you've been in, and there are times where you're presented with the opportunity, opportunity to say, "Yeah, but let me tell you about my victory."

Thomas Rhett 22:23 That's right.

Jefferson Fisher 22:24 "Let, let me tell you how, how I, how I came out of it."

Thomas Rhett 22:26 That's right.

Jefferson Fisher 22:26 "Let me tell you how I can share of... Uh, you think that's bad?"

Thomas Rhett 22:29 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 22:29 "Oh, I got way worse."

Thomas Rhett 22:30 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 22:30 "And, and let me tell you how I got out of it."

Thomas Rhett 22:32 Well, just the, the power of testimony-

Jefferson Fisher 22:34 Oh

Thomas Rhett 22:34 ... of any kind.

Jefferson Fisher 22:35 Yeah, for sure.

Thomas Rhett 22:35 You know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 22:36 Yeah. To, to know that somebody else has already-

Thomas Rhett 22:38 That's right

Jefferson Fisher 22:38 ... been in that with

Jefferson Fisher 22:39 you.

Thomas Rhett 22:39 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 22:39 I'm-

Thomas Rhett 22:39 Which is why I think everyone needs an old friend.

Jefferson Fisher 22:42 The oldest of friends.

Thomas Rhett 22:42 Everyone needs an old man. A dude needs an old man, and a woman needs an old woman in their lives-

Jefferson Fisher 22:47 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 22:47 ... that they talk to once a month on the phone.

Jefferson Fisher 22:49 Hands down.

Thomas Rhett 22:50 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 22:50 I have several. And I-

Thomas Rhett 22:51 Good.

Jefferson Fisher 22:51 Yeah. It's, and I've always been, like, an old soul.

Thomas Rhett 22:53 For sure.

Jefferson Fisher 22:53 Uh, but that, well, I definitely have some old people that I call up-

Thomas Rhett 22:57 Yes

Jefferson Fisher 22:57 ... when, when things are going o- I call it, we call it, uh, in my, in my circles of y- having a bucket.

Thomas Rhett 23:03 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 23:03 Like, so you'll call a buddy, and you just go, "I need a bucket."

Thomas Rhett 23:05 Mm-hmm.

Jefferson Fisher 23:06 And that means just lay it all out there.

Thomas Rhett 23:08 Oh, dump it all. Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 23:08 Yeah, dump it all out there.

Thomas Rhett 23:09 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 23:09 And then you start to sift it and sort it, and-

Thomas Rhett 23:11 That's right

Jefferson Fisher 23:11 ... but you gotta hear from people who've been through it.

Thomas Rhett 23:13 That's right.

Jefferson Fisher 23:13 Otherwise, you don't... You, you lose it. I always feel of, [chuckles] makes me think of growing up. We would, uh, have our golf tournaments in high school.

Thomas Rhett 23:22 Mm-hmm.

Jefferson Fisher 23:23 Uh, and the reason I liked going to golf tournaments in high school was because, and I wasn't any good at golf back then, but you got out of school. But we'd go to McDonald's-

Thomas Rhett 23:32 Mm-hmm

Jefferson Fisher 23:32 ... early in the morning, and they just came out with, I think, the McGriddle.

Thomas Rhett 23:36 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 23:36 But-

Thomas Rhett 23:36 What a great day.

Jefferson Fisher 23:37 Yeah. Oh, it was so good. [laughs] It's so good. Um, but there would always be this, like, round table of old men-

Thomas Rhett 23:44 Mm-hmm

Jefferson Fisher 23:45 ... uh, just meeting to talk about whatever.

Thomas Rhett 23:49 That's right.

Jefferson Fisher 23:49 And I just want, that's what I want, like, in my life.

Thomas Rhett 23:51 And more than likely, they have been talking in that, in that same setting for 40 years.

Jefferson Fisher 23:55 At least.

Thomas Rhett 23:56 And crazy, like, how the, the problems or the successes continue to change-

Jefferson Fisher 24:00 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 24:00 ... over that course of time. You know what I mean? Like, we, I, my wife and I have been a part of a Bible study now for eight years-

Jefferson Fisher 24:06 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 24:06 ... which I'm learning is a very long time to be in a Bible study.

Jefferson Fisher 24:09 I would say, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 24:09 Um-

Jefferson Fisher 24:09 With all, like, the small group kinda era and everything.

Thomas Rhett 24:11 Yeah, because, like, we, I mean, between our tw- uh, be-

Jefferson Fisher 24:15 Seven couples in our group, we have, like, 30 children. [laughs] Oh, that's a lot, dude. Yeah. So, like- Like, just, like, homeschool them while you're in Bible study? Yeah. No, no, I mean- [laughs] ... like, literally, like, the, the amount of, like, effort we have all put it, put in to be like, "Hey, Mondays are non-negotiable"- Right ... uh, is pretty fascinating to like- And that's hard ... look back at eight years. But, like, we, you know, we ... I don't know if you journal or anything. Yeah. I'm a terrible journaler. But, like, even just, like- Oh, when I say yeah, I mean- Yeah ... I, I'm pretty bad at it. But looking back at, like, what the prayer requests were- Yeah ... compared to what, first of all, what prayers were answered, and now, like, what are our prayer requests now are so different than they were seven years ago. It's perspective as to how you're doing, though. But just grow- yeah, growing with a group of people that are doing life similarly is such a blessing to me, so. And I find that even, one, absolutely. Two, I do that a lot with, um, Sierra and I. The things that I can look back we prayed for- Mm-hmm ... a year for- Yeah ... a year ago, or the conversations we've even had six months ago. Totally. And the way that that's been tracked. And e- Yeah ... the things that we thought were a big deal got handled. 100%. You know, and the things that we thought were the biggest thing that was going on- Yeah ... weren't. We missed it, you know what I mean? Isn't that so funny? Yeah. Like, but why do we continue to think that the things moving forward are still such a big deal? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like- Yeah ... think about all the battles you went through, and now you can look back at them and laugh. But you're still sort of doing the same things. Yes. But for some reason you can't laugh about them in the moment. Right. They still become this, like, world crumbling- Yeah ... thing, that when you make it through, you're like, "Oh, this is just like all the other- Yes ... world crumbling things that happened in the last decade." Right. Are you, um ... Like, I, I always ... I don't know the dynamic between you and Lauren of, like, I'm the, "It's gonna be fine." She's the, "We're gonna have to plan out every single scenario." Mm. And she's thought about it a million times more than I ever have. Yeah. Um, do you find, like, how do your personalities balance each other in that? I'm your wife. Oh, yeah. [laughs] Nice. And my wife is you. She's, she's just like, "It's gonna be fine. We're gonna be- this is gonna be good." Yeah. Which, um, I feel like that's, I feel like that's kind of the biggest work I've been trying to do on myself is, like ... 'Cause I do know that my, you know, over-attention to things ... Like, my wife would say I have a lack of attention to detail. Mm-hmm. But I, I have a lack of attention to de- detail of things that I don't care about. Mm. [laughs] But if I care about them- Yeah ... I have an, like, an OCD attention to the detail. I can see. Like, I'm like, what are we ... You know, if we're going on, like, a vacation, Lauren's like, "We'll just figure it out when we get there." I'm like, "No, we're going to Italy." Yeah. [laughs] Like, you have to plan Italy. Yeah. [laughs] You can't just, you can't just show up in Rome. Oh, we're definitely swapped. Yeah, yeah. And be like, "We're just gonna ... I don't know." Yeah. "We'll try this gelato out." Exactly. I'm like, "No, we [laughs] can we get on the phone with the travel agent?" Yeah, yeah. She's like, "Maybe next week." I'm like- Yeah ... "No, like, today." Yeah, right. You know? At this moment. So- Yeah ... I would say I'm a lot like your wife. I, I, I definitely, I, I'm a lot like your wife. That, that definitely vibes. Uh, I think this, this is good for our relationship. Yeah. I can already see what's gonna work out, man. [laughs] Yeah. Before we keep going, I wanna take a moment to tell you about Upwork. You grow, you and your business grow, not by doing more things, but by doing the right things and letting go of the rest. And I know what I struggle with sometimes in several businesses that I've begun is that delegation is a problem, because I would rather sometimes spend way too long, too many hours trying to look up how to do something or work some other platform, when I could have just gone to Upwork. Upwork has a selection of, seriously, some of the best freelancers out there for everything you could possibly want to do. I'm talking about da- data and analytics, software and development, marketing, business operations, people who wanna do a logo or video editing or help with a brand. You name it, they're all there. And so what's so great is that instead of spending weeks of trying to research something, Upwork already has them, and it has a full profile. You can see all the work they've done. You can see their portfolios for things. I've hired people from Upwork, and I have not been disappointed. So if you want the best of the best, Upwork's Business Plus gives you access to the top 1% of talent with AI-powered matching that connects you with the right freelancer in under six hours. That's pretty incredible. It also handles contracts and payments all in one place, which means less admin for you, which means happier life [laughs] for you as well. So thousands of businesses are already using Upwork to scale smarter. It's free to sign up, and posting a job is simple. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That's upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's U-P-W-O-R-K.com,

Jefferson Fisher 28:46 upwork.com. Let's keep going. I wanna, um, talk for a moment on the idea of ... You've, you've had a lot of songs about women, marriage, specifically a woman. Yeah. Your wife. Mm-hmm. And you almost in some way become a model for marriage- Mm ... in culture, in, uh, news or whatever celebrity is. W- how hard is that? What's that like- Yeah ... when you feel like, hold up, wait, we're just as normal as everybody else. Sure. And all of a sudden, we're ... People actually care- Uh-huh ... more about our marriage than actually being in it. Yeah. It's a, it's a weird juxtaposition. You know, I was actually having this conversation earlier. Um, but, like, when, you know, being in the limelight, quote-unquote, or being, like, a quote-unquote, like, celebrity- Yeah ... you, you know, the, the world sort of develops this, um, this framework that you, that they pin you under. You know what I'm saying? Like- They decide for you ... they kinda decide for you of just kinda like if you were ... I g- and maybe I'm wrong on this, but I would like to think that if you went out, if you went out in Nashville right now and polled 100 people- Mm-hmm ... be like, "Hey, when, when I say the name Thomas Rhett, what do you think of?" They'd be like, "Oh, his wife." Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Right. Okay, what else? His ki- his beautiful kids. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they're like, "Okay, what else? Music?" Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Maybe. Is ... Doesn't he sing? Isn't he a thing? Doesn't he sing? Yeah, yeah. Exactly. And so, and maybe I'm wrong on that, but I would, I would like to believe that that is more than likely what people think of when they think of me. And so it's like, it has been this interesting kind of change, especially, like-

Thomas Rhett 30:22 You know, social media has been around for a minute now, but now it literally is all... Like, podcasts, social media is our way that we, that we project.

Jefferson Fisher 30:30 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 30:30 This is the way we, you know, market all the stuff. And so for me, it's been interesting to find this balance of like, okay, well, when I post a picture of, like, my family on Easter Sunday, it's gonna get a she load of engagement.

Jefferson Fisher 30:43 Right.

Thomas Rhett 30:43 But if I post a picture or a video of a new song, maybe it's not gonna connect as much. And so for me, I have to find this, like, weird balance of, like, but I still do this for a living.

Jefferson Fisher 30:51 Yeah, yeah. [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 30:52 Like, you know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 30:53 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 30:53 Um, because I think people have sort of labeled our family, like, I mean, couple goals, uh-

Jefferson Fisher 30:59 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 31:00 ... you know, uh, dream family goals.

Jefferson Fisher 31:03 Right.

Thomas Rhett 31:03 Um, all, all this kind of stuff. And so when that is your perception, you sort of innately come back in your house, and when things are not going well, you're like, you kind of in your mind go, "But I thought we were the perfect family."

Jefferson Fisher 31:15 Right.

Thomas Rhett 31:15 "I thought I was the perfect husband."

Jefferson Fisher 31:16 Exactly. Exactly.

Thomas Rhett 31:17 Everybody thinks I am.

Jefferson Fisher 31:18 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everybody says I am.

Thomas Rhett 31:19 Everybody says I am.

Jefferson Fisher 31:20 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 31:20 Um, and so it is fascinating, dude, because there... We live such a normal life. Like, as normal as we can-

Jefferson Fisher 31:27 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 31:28 ... to, to, to, to have done the things that we have gotten to do.

Jefferson Fisher 31:30 Yes.

Thomas Rhett 31:30 I would like to think that we are very normal. I understand that our, some of our ways of traveling are different.

Jefferson Fisher 31:35 Right.

Thomas Rhett 31:35 And some of the places we stay-

Jefferson Fisher 31:36 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 31:36 ... are different. Um, but, like, I feel like we are so insanely normal, and my kids think that we are so insanely normal, that when we go places and people wanna take pictures with me and Lar- our kids are just like, "What the frick is happening right now?"

Jefferson Fisher 31:49 [laughs] Yeah. Right.

Thomas Rhett 31:51 My six-year-old was like, "Why do these people like you?"

Jefferson Fisher 31:52 Yeah. Yeah. I've had, I've had that.

Thomas Rhett 31:54 And I'm like, "Well, you know, do you know that I sing?"

Jefferson Fisher 31:56 Right.

Thomas Rhett 31:56 And she's like-

Jefferson Fisher 31:57 Exactly

Thomas Rhett 31:57 ... I mean, yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 31:58 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 31:58 But, like, and? You know what I mean?

Jefferson Fisher 32:01 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 32:01 And so, like, I'm trying in this, in this season to, like, kind of really teach my kids really what do I do for a living, 'cause it- it's fascinating-

Jefferson Fisher 32:07 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 32:07 ... if you were to ask your kid, "Hey, what does Daddy do for a living?"

Jefferson Fisher 32:10 Right. Exactly.

Thomas Rhett 32:11 It'd be, I'd be curious to hear their response.

Jefferson Fisher 32:13 We, we always say, "Daddy just helps people." That's it.

Thomas Rhett 32:15 Right.

Jefferson Fisher 32:15 'Cause when they stop, and my daughter's very vocal, and she'll be like, "Do you know her?" [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 32:20 Yeah, exactly.

Jefferson Fisher 32:20 You know what I mean? And I'm like, "Well, kind of."

Thomas Rhett 32:22 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 32:22 "Yeah, we know each other."

Thomas Rhett 32:23 Mm-hmm.

Jefferson Fisher 32:24 "And Daddy helps..." You know, like-

Thomas Rhett 32:25 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 32:25 ... but that's kind of the-

Thomas Rhett 32:26 But they also think, like, my kids think that because I'm a singer, that I just have everyone's phone number.

Jefferson Fisher 32:31 Oh, oh, okay.

Thomas Rhett 32:32 And that-

Jefferson Fisher 32:32 You should just call them

Thomas Rhett 32:33 ... and that whoever can come over for lunch tomorrow.

Jefferson Fisher 32:35 Right. Oh, there we go. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 32:36 You know what I mean?

Jefferson Fisher 32:37 I get that.

Thomas Rhett 32:37 Uh, last, I think it was last week, or maybe it was Easter Sunday, one of my kids was like, um, "Do you think the Jonas Brothers are gonna come tomorrow for Easter?"

Jefferson Fisher 32:45 [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 32:45 And I'm like, "No."

Jefferson Fisher 32:46 No, probably not. There's marshmallow-

Thomas Rhett 32:47 They're not, they're like, "But you sing."

Jefferson Fisher 32:48 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 32:49 And I'm like, "Yeah, but..." [laughs] Like, and so I'm trying to, like, I'm trying to, like, really take them through the weeds of, like, what I actually do for a living.

Jefferson Fisher 32:55 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 32:56 Like, singing is this much of it.

Jefferson Fisher 32:57 Right.

Thomas Rhett 32:58 Writing is this much of it.

Jefferson Fisher 32:59 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 33:00 Uh, planning meetings are this much of it.

Jefferson Fisher 33:02 Right.

Thomas Rhett 33:02 All, all the tour design, like, all the stuff. And so now that they're, they're starting to understand that, oh, my job is more than just singing. Now, all of a sudden, my kids are like... My 10-year-old the other night was like, "Well, I wanna be a designer, and I'm gonna des- design dresses. I wanna be the CEO of my company."

Jefferson Fisher 33:15 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 33:15 I was like, "Where'd you learn the word CEO?"

Jefferson Fisher 33:16 Yeah. [laughs] Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 33:16 She was like, "I'm gonna live in Paris for a year."

Jefferson Fisher 33:18 Oh, there we go.

Thomas Rhett 33:18 "Then I'm gonna move to London, and then I'm gonna have eight kids."

Jefferson Fisher 33:21 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 33:21 I was like, "Oh."

Jefferson Fisher 33:22 That's awesome.

Thomas Rhett 33:22 Perfect.

Jefferson Fisher 33:23 And how old is she?

Thomas Rhett 33:23 She's 10.

Jefferson Fisher 33:24 Yeah, I love that.

Thomas Rhett 33:25 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 33:25 I love that. My six-year-old last night was like, "Um, I think I'm gonna move, uh, to California for a little bit. And then maybe, if you're still in Tennessee, maybe I might come say hi."

Thomas Rhett 33:36 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 33:36 "And then..." And I was like, okay.

Thomas Rhett 33:38 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 33:38 She's already thought this, like, way out, way farther than I need to.

Thomas Rhett 33:41 Oh, 100%.

Jefferson Fisher 33:41 I was like, "You mean you're not gonna stay with me?" [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 33:43 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 33:44 Like, you know. She's like, "No."

Thomas Rhett 33:45 Totally.

Jefferson Fisher 33:45 Like, "Why would I, why would I do that?"

Thomas Rhett 33:47 But no, back to your que-

Jefferson Fisher 33:48 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 33:48 I think it's just, like, perception versus reality is a tough, um-

Jefferson Fisher 33:51 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 33:51 ... tough battle.

Jefferson Fisher 33:51 And I, I, I'll share, like, mine. Um-

Thomas Rhett 33:53 Mm.

Jefferson Fisher 33:55 I will... Here I have a platform where I talk about how to have good communication.

Thomas Rhett 34:00 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 34:00 And how to handle conflict-

Thomas Rhett 34:02 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 34:02 ... and arguments, and model recovery.

Thomas Rhett 34:04 Mm-hmm.

Jefferson Fisher 34:04 And how do you, how do you repair-

Thomas Rhett 34:06 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 34:06 ... after an argument. And, and then it's really easy to get into an, a disagreement, uh, because you're married-

Thomas Rhett 34:15 Mm

Jefferson Fisher 34:15 ... to another human.

Thomas Rhett 34:16 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 34:16 And it's like, well, okay, Mr. Communication Expert.

Thomas Rhett 34:18 That's right.

Jefferson Fisher 34:19 You know what I'm say- And then it's like, it's, it's has to be hard, too, of here y'all are putting this hashtag couple goals, and then-

Thomas Rhett 34:27 Sure

Jefferson Fisher 34:27 ... because you're married-

Thomas Rhett 34:28 Mm

Jefferson Fisher 34:28 ... and human-

Thomas Rhett 34:29 Mm-hmm

Jefferson Fisher 34:30 ... you get into an argument, and all of a sudden it's, wait, we're hashtag couple goals. What are we doing?

Thomas Rhett 34:34 100%, yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 34:34 And then it's easy to... 'Cause you got kids.

Thomas Rhett 34:37 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 34:37 And it's bath time, and it's whatever else.

Thomas Rhett 34:40 Yeah. And I think, too, that there's a, there's a, there's a quote that says, um, oh, what does it say? Uh, blet- or shoot, b- uh, "Cursed is the man who is a prophet overseas-

Jefferson Fisher 34:52 Mm

Thomas Rhett 34:52 ... but a burden in his own home."

Jefferson Fisher 34:54 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 34:54 Have you... I don't know, I don't know who wrote that, but it's pretty brilliant to me. And it's like, it's like what kind of capacity and what space are you giving to use your talents in your workplace but not-

Jefferson Fisher 35:06 For sure

Thomas Rhett 35:06 ... in your house.

Jefferson Fisher 35:07 Was it Paul? I think it was P- it might have been, like, in Romans.

Thomas Rhett 35:10 Maybe Paul.

Jefferson Fisher 35:10 I think it was in Romans.

Thomas Rhett 35:11 What a guy.

Jefferson Fisher 35:11 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 35:11 What a guy.

Jefferson Fisher 35:12 What a pal. What a fella.

Thomas Rhett 35:13 What a pal.

Jefferson Fisher 35:13 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 35:13 But yeah, dude, I mean, it's, it's, it's, like, it's so easy to, for, like, me to sit here with you-

Jefferson Fisher 35:17 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 35:17 ... and just be, like, the nicest dude in the world.

Jefferson Fisher 35:19 Right.

Thomas Rhett 35:20 But if I can't take that mentality and bring it back into my house, because it's like the, the old saying of, um-

Jefferson Fisher 35:26 Mm-hmm

Thomas Rhett 35:27 ... I wanna be known and loved the most by the people that love and know me the most.

Jefferson Fisher 35:30 Mm, yeah.

Thomas Rhett 35:31 You know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 35:31 That's so good.

Thomas Rhett 35:32 And it's like you're your-

Jefferson Fisher 35:33 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 35:33 ... best self in front of complete strangers.

Jefferson Fisher 35:35 Right.

Thomas Rhett 35:35 But you're your worst version of yourself in front of the people that admire and respect you the most.

Jefferson Fisher 35:39 Yeah. There's a question I always try to ask myself is, is, are my fans or my family getting the best version of me? And that's like-

Thomas Rhett 35:48 Buddy.

Jefferson Fisher 35:49 Ooh.

Thomas Rhett 35:50 That is the whole, the world loves to talk about work-life balance.

Jefferson Fisher 35:54 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 35:54 I don't believe in it.

Jefferson Fisher 35:55 Yeah. [laughs] Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 35:56 I don't.

Jefferson Fisher 35:56 What do you believe?

Thomas Rhett 35:58 I believe that you have to sort of be 100% committed where your feet are.

Jefferson Fisher 36:01 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 36:02 So, if you're at home, you have to be 100% that guy.

Jefferson Fisher 36:05 Right.

Thomas Rhett 36:05 You know what I mean? Like, I think that it's, it's a, it's a slippery slope to me to be like, oh, I can take a couple phone calls-

Jefferson Fisher 36:10 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 36:10 ... on a Saturday.

Jefferson Fisher 36:12 Yeah, that's hard.

Thomas Rhett 36:12 While my kids are playing T-ball in the backyard.

Jefferson Fisher 36:15 Mm-hmm.

Thomas Rhett 36:15 'Cause those couple calls turn into an all-day thing.

Jefferson Fisher 36:17 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 36:18 And then, all of a sudden, I find myself in my studio writing a song that, of an idea that came to my brain, and then before I know it-

Jefferson Fisher 36:23 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 36:23 ... the weekend is over, and I've spent no time with my children.

Jefferson Fisher 36:25 Right.

Thomas Rhett 36:26 You know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 36:26 Or just, just a little bit.

Thomas Rhett 36:27 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 36:28 I, I find, like, I've- I think you, you would be somebody who would support this. The last year in particular for me, I went by this idea of what's best for the business is what's best for the family. Mm. And what I have gone through, man, I have ... It is bright line red clear to me of w- it's the opposite. What's best for the family is what's best for the business, of like- Mm. ... what you're doing right now, what's best- 100% ... for your, your children- Yeah ... and Lauren is what carries through everything else. Right. And how different that is. 100%, because think about it like this. Like, if your, if your job ... [scoffs] I'm trying to word this right. If things are right in the home- Mm-hmm ... right, and, like, you- you're spending not quantity time, you're spending quality time with your family, it could be super limited, too. Right. Like, even if you only get a couple hours a weekend, but, but it's, like, in- very, very, very intentional. Yeah. That's so much more than you just, like, kind of being there for a week. Just halfing it. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And so, like, if your wife feels loved and known, if your kids feel loved and known and seen, all of a sudden, when you walk out the door to go to work, your family's going, "Go get them, Dad." Right. Compared to [sighs] it's that thing. Yeah. You ... Like, he- he's going to do the thing that continues to take away from us. Right. Does that make sense? No. I- I- I'm, I'm right there with you, man. So- I'm shaking. Because I- I've, I've lived that, too. Before we get going, I want to take a moment to tell you about LMNT, which, as my kids call it, salty water. LMNT is an easy way to stay hydrated. It comes in packs, also in, like, seltzer cans, where it's very salty, but it's the good stuff, where it's no sugar. It gives you lots of electrolytes and keeps you hydrated, which is great. Uh, what I ... The flavor I like, I take the packets, because I'm not a seltzer person. I don't really do carbonation. But my kids do. They love it. And so usually [laughs] they'll ask for it after dinner. That's, like, my son's choice of drink. He calls it, "Can I ... I want s- I want to go get some salty water." Um, and if it's not cold, he calls it spicy water, [laughs] because it's g- he th- he finds the carbonation spicy. Anyway, I like the, I like the packets of it. And they just came out with some new flavors. That's tea and lemonade, like an Arnold, Arnold Palmer type of thing, pink lemonade, and just the regular lemonade. It's fantastic. I highly, highly, um, recommend those flavors. They're the best. So LMNT was made for people on a mission, people like you and me, from parents to business leaders. And right now, LMNT is offering my listeners a free sample pack with any order, which is pretty sweet. Head ... Or pretty salty. Head to drinkLMNT.com. That was such a bad dad joke. [laughs] Head to drinkLMNT.com/jefferson to try it risk-free. That's drink L-M-N-T.com/jefferson.

Jefferson Fisher 39:04 Let's keep going. I've heard you speak on kind of this transition of things you didn't do as well- Mm ... in marriage and relationship and family, and now you're at a place where you feel like you do well. So what, what is the thing in your mind you felt like you had to unlearn to be where you are now? Um, I was on the phone ... I hope she's okay with me sharing this, and if it's not, y'all can just- Yeah, we can cut it ... cut it out. Whatever. Yeah. Uh, but I was on the phone with Miranda Lambert the other day. Yeah. She's kind of weirdly always been ... Not weirdly. She's been an amazing friend, uh, ever since I started in this business. Oh, that's cool. Um, I was kind of seven or eight years behind her, so she's always been doing it eight to 10 years longer than me. Yeah. So she's always had a, a 10-year sort of wisdom gap- Mm-hmm ... ahead of me or whatever, and I called her the other day just, just to talk about music, the road, touring. Like, at what point do you, like, not do a 50-show tour? Like, at what point do you decide maybe we can- maybe we can't sell 20,000 tickets? And you know- Yeah, yeah ... we were having this conversation, and just started talking about, man, I just feel like I end up just saying yes always for, for the sake of more. Yeah. And she said, she said, "Let me just remind you that there is no such thing as a country music emergency." That's good. And I lo- I, I freaking love that quote, because it's not just a country music emergency. Yeah. She was like, "You're not a doctor. Like, you're not going in to do a heart transplant tonight. You're got, you're not curing cancer. You're literally deciding should I do this podcast or should I not?" Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. And when you really zoom out 1,000 feet- Right ... and kind of go, oh, that's really not a big deal. Yeah. And more than likely, there will be another opportunity to do something else down the line that matches up better with my schedule. And so I think the thing that I had to unlearn is that if, i- if I said no eight to 10 years ago, which I didn't say no eight to 10 years ago. Right. It was always a yes. Um, I've had to, I've had to unlearn that just because it's a good opportunity doesn't mean it's the best opportunity. Yeah. Um, and so I- I've been very, very fortunate with such an amazing team- Right ... that sort of knows where my rankings are on my, like, family, work- Priorities ... stuff. Mm-hmm. To where it's like they have done a great job of just presenting me with a lot of different options, and being like, "Hey, we believe that this is great. We believe that this is a lot of good exposure. We believe this. We believe this." Mm-hmm. And so they present the options. We get ... And then we haven't done this great, but we have now started trying to do once a month, sitting down, not just with me, but with my wife. Oh, nice. Because I'm not a good communicator. Yeah. [laughs] I'm one of those people that will say- Yeah ... yes to a million things and get super fired up about this thing and super fired up about this, and then I get home, and I'm like, "Oh, I really need to talk to Lauren about this stuff." Oh, my gosh. Dude, yeah. But as you know- Yeah ... when? Yes. When are we gonna do that? Yes. When we get in the bed at 9:00? Y- yeah, yeah, yeah. What's happening? Are we gonna do that or are we trying to watch Silo season three? Right. Yes. You know what I'm saying? [laughs] And it just ends up not getting talked about, and then by the time that whole busy week that we- Yeah ... had planned gets there- Right ... everyone's in shock. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. My wife goes, "When did you plan all this?" Yeah. I'm like, "Oh, um, a couple months ago." Yeah. She's like, "Well, I didn't ... I mean, uh, we don't have, w- we don't have a babysitter." I'm like, I'm like, "Oh, shoot." Yeah, yeah. And then I just scramble, and then I cancel, and then I become this, like, very unreliable person. Right. Does that make sense? Dude, I, I lived that, okay? Okay. [laughs] Okay. I, yeah, like, in, in the last six months, all right? Because what would happen is they would say, of course, my scale, much smaller on ... ... tour and, and everything else of, they'd ask me, "Can you be on this show-

Thomas Rhett 42:38 Hmm

Jefferson Fisher 42:38 ... podcast, whatever?" And I go, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." And then, or I'd say, "Hold off." And then I'd ask Sierra, and she'd be like, "Oh, well that's Ruby's dance recital."

Thomas Rhett 42:47 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 42:47 You know, like, or, "This is-

Thomas Rhett 42:49 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 42:49 ... not a dance recital, but, like, this is a program at school."

Thomas Rhett 42:51 I'm getting stressed out-

Jefferson Fisher 42:51 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 42:52 ... thinking about this.

Jefferson Fisher 42:52 And, and, and I'm like, I'm like, "Oh, it is? Oh, okay." And then, then I'd have to go tell somebody-

Thomas Rhett 42:56 Hmm

Jefferson Fisher 42:57 ... that's not a good date, and then they'd have to come back with a different date.

Thomas Rhett 42:59 Mm-hmm.

Jefferson Fisher 42:59 And it was like, they'd just put me in a, in a impossible position. And so what we've done is now Sierra is, like, the number one filter-

Thomas Rhett 43:08 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 43:09 ... of protecting. Her job is chief number one-

Thomas Rhett 43:13 Mm-hmm

Jefferson Fisher 43:13 ... of, like, uh, any schedule things, any publicity things-

Thomas Rhett 43:17 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 43:17 ... any of your stuff like that once-a-month meeting or whatever.

Thomas Rhett 43:21 For sure.

Jefferson Fisher 43:21 It all runs through her.

Thomas Rhett 43:22 100%.

Jefferson Fisher 43:22 And so it's, I, I, don't let me make a scheduling decision because her brain has the capacity-

Thomas Rhett 43:27 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 43:27 ... to handle all the tabs-

Thomas Rhett 43:30 For sure

Jefferson Fisher 43:30 ... out in the open. And, and that just makes my life and our life-

Thomas Rhett 43:34 Mm-hmm

Jefferson Fisher 43:35 ... like, that much better-

Thomas Rhett 43:37 Totally

Jefferson Fisher 43:37 ... when we're able, able to do that.

Thomas Rhett 43:39 Yeah, 100%, man.

Jefferson Fisher 43:40 I, uh, I do have to tell you this number one song that gets played at my house is your Nothing Else with Forrest Frank.

Thomas Rhett 43:46 Oh, sick. [laughs]

Jefferson Fisher 43:46 Dude, my kids love, we all-

Thomas Rhett 43:49 Buddy

Jefferson Fisher 43:49 ... e- uh, every morning-

Thomas Rhett 43:50 Same

Jefferson Fisher 43:50 ... every morning is Forrest Frank. Every morning.

Thomas Rhett 43:52 Same.

Jefferson Fisher 43:52 And so I, I have to say-

Thomas Rhett 43:53 There's not much, like, inspiring music out there that feels like you're listening to Fetty Wap at the same time.

Jefferson Fisher 43:58 [laughs] Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 43:59 You know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 43:59 At the very same time.

Thomas Rhett 43:59 You can just blast on a Monday morning.

Jefferson Fisher 44:01 Right, right.

Thomas Rhett 44:01 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 44:01 And, and it's just age appropriate [laughs] for everybody.

Thomas Rhett 44:03 Yes.

Jefferson Fisher 44:03 Yeah, exactly.

Thomas Rhett 44:04 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 44:04 And so we'll, I'll be making eggs just going, man, I'm having a... This, this is-

Thomas Rhett 44:07 That's right

Jefferson Fisher 44:07 ... this feels like... Yeah. Um, I do have to say I am encouraged and am proud to see what I have seen, and that is more leaning into your faith-

Thomas Rhett 44:18 Hmm

Jefferson Fisher 44:19 ... and being more, I think just more God focused in your m- message. And I think that's something, as somebody watching from the outside, man, I'm so proud, dude.

Thomas Rhett 44:31 Thanks, dude.

Jefferson Fisher 44:32 I think, I think that's just, that's just awesome because that's hard. That's really hard of, like, what, what do you, what if you're not the Thomas Rhett that people fell in love with-

Thomas Rhett 44:41 Hmm

Jefferson Fisher 44:41 ... 13 years ago-

Thomas Rhett 44:42 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 44:42 ... or whatever, and, like, you're in these different life s- stages and phases, and you're in different f- phase of marriage and everything. And some o- a lot of that too is faith.

Thomas Rhett 44:51 For sure. Yeah, man, it's, you know, it's, it's always been a part of me. I mean, ever, ever, ever since I was young.

Jefferson Fisher 44:59 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 44:59 Like I, I mean, I think I got, I got baptized when I was eight.

Jefferson Fisher 45:02 Nice.

Thomas Rhett 45:03 I'm not totally sure I knew what it meant.

Jefferson Fisher 45:04 [laughs] Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 45:05 When I was eight.

Jefferson Fisher 45:06 I think we all got married, like, right at that age.

Thomas Rhett 45:07 Yeah. And then, but I, I don't... I mean, I've always believed, but I, I don't think that my, like, faith got really real until I was, like, a sophomore in college.

Jefferson Fisher 45:15 Mm-hmm.

Thomas Rhett 45:15 And then, you know, when I got on the road, it was always a part of me, but it never was as, like, um, never was as vocal.

Jefferson Fisher 45:22 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 45:22 You know? Um, and for some reason, I don't know what it is about the, the human brain turning 30. Like, do you know the science behind th- Is, like, is my brain fully developed now-

Jefferson Fisher 45:33 Yeah, I don't think so

Thomas Rhett 45:33 ... as a 36-year-old man? [laughs]

Jefferson Fisher 45:34 I, I don't think so.

Thomas Rhett 45:35 Maybe.

Jefferson Fisher 45:35 I think it's, we're just coming online.

Thomas Rhett 45:37 Yeah.

Jefferson Fisher 45:37 Honestly.

Thomas Rhett 45:37 I, I don't, I don't know if it was e- it was either turning 30 or me turning 30 during COVID, you know?

Jefferson Fisher 45:43 Oh, okay.

Thomas Rhett 45:43 COVID w- warped me.

Jefferson Fisher 45:45 Yeah. [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 45:45 Like, in the worst way and in the best way-

Jefferson Fisher 45:48 Yeah

Thomas Rhett 45:48 ... humanly possible. I think that, like, that year, as hard as it was, God did so many things in my life that year that I did not know they were happening while they were happening.

Jefferson Fisher 45:58 Right.

Thomas Rhett 45:58 Um, even just, like, that year, I feel like so much of my identity and what I did was completely stripped away from me.

Jefferson Fisher 46:07 Mm-hmm.

Thomas Rhett 46:07 You know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 46:08 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 46:08 Um, I was talking to Harry about this the other day, but the, the, the things that we did for money that year were so hilarious.

Jefferson Fisher 46:14 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 46:15 Like, the sponsorship deals we did. I played on Zoom calls for corporate companies, like 10,000 people, and you can't see any of them.

Jefferson Fisher 46:22 Yeah. [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 46:22 You're just in your basement alone. [laughs]

Jefferson Fisher 46:24 Just jamming.

Thomas Rhett 46:24 And they would, like, unmute it, and you would hear-

Jefferson Fisher 46:26 [laughs]

Thomas Rhett 46:27 ... like that, you know? And you're like, "What the frick are we doing?"

Jefferson Fisher 46:29 Yeah, yeah. What's happening?

Thomas Rhett 46:31 Um, but you know, when you were in the middle of COVID, you really, you really di- I really did not believe that we were ever gonna ever be able to go do anything ever again.

Jefferson Fisher 46:38 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 46:38 Like, I was so warped. And, but God, like every month, would just keep stripping me and keep stripping me and keep stripping me and just remind me, like, "Hey, first and foremost, you're a husband. Hey, first and foremost, you're a father. Hey, first, first and foremost, you're a son-

Jefferson Fisher 46:52 Hmm

Thomas Rhett 46:52 ... you're a friend. And then comes this thing, singer."

Jefferson Fisher 46:56 Right.

Thomas Rhett 46:56 Uh, I was at a conference last week. You ever heard John Maxwell speak?

Jefferson Fisher 46:59 I have.

Thomas Rhett 47:00 Buddy. Like, I don't know if you're a fan or not, but, like, the way, the way that he kind of presented this to me w- was pretty wild. Or maybe not to me, but it was just, like, as part of a conference, and he was just like, I guess when he was kinda getting going early on in his career, he had a mentor that flew out to meet him. And he was like, "Hey, John, you know, it sounds like things are going pretty well. You know, you're, a lot of people are coming to church and all that kind of stuff." He's like, "Yeah, I'm doing pretty good." And he was like, "Yeah, and it sounds like when you, you deliver sermons, people, people like it a lot." And they're like, "Yeah, we're getting a pretty good reaction, you know?" And he was like, "I bet you think you're pretty amazing, don't you?" He was like, "Ah, you know, I don't know." He was like, "Let me remind you, you are not amazing."

Jefferson Fisher 47:39 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 47:39 "You're not amazing. Your gifts are amazing."

Jefferson Fisher 47:43 Hmm.

Thomas Rhett 47:46 "But those gifts were given freely to you."

Jefferson Fisher 47:48 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 47:48 And that was a huge message that I feel like I learned during COVID is, like, I guess it's me, it's my voice, it's my songs, it's all that stuff, but tho- those are all gifts that were given to me freely.

Jefferson Fisher 47:57 Hmm.

Thomas Rhett 47:57 You know what I'm saying?

Jefferson Fisher 47:58 So good.

Thomas Rhett 47:58 And, uh, and so I don't even remember what we were talking about, but I guess, like, after COVID, um, was when I just sort of, I couldn't really not be vocal about my faith anymore.

Jefferson Fisher 48:10 Yeah.

Thomas Rhett 48:10 And I'm not, I'm not a preacher by any means. I, I w-

Jefferson Fisher 48:14 You don't gotta be, man

Thomas Rhett 48:15 ... I, I'm not a preacher.

Jefferson Fisher 48:16 You don't gotta be.

Thomas Rhett 48:16 Um-

Jefferson Fisher 48:16 You just gotta follow Him. That's it.

Thomas Rhett 48:18 But, but the more I, the more I read and the more I walked, um, just more, more intimately with the Lord, it just sort of, it just started, uh, flowing out of me differently than it had, uh, before COVID.

Jefferson Fisher 48:28 Well-

Thomas Rhett 48:28 So

Jefferson Fisher 48:29 ... I, I know you have, you know, a lot of music that's inside of you still, and things that I think you're gonna-

Thomas Rhett 48:35 Yeah

Jefferson Fisher 48:35 ... bring out, and it's not gonna be you. It's gonna be-

Thomas Rhett 48:38 That's right

Jefferson Fisher 48:38 ... your gifts-

Thomas Rhett 48:38 The gifts

Jefferson Fisher 48:39 ... that do it.

Thomas Rhett 48:40 That's right.

Jefferson Fisher 48:40 And, uh, I'm gonna look forward to, to watching it, man. Thanks, man.

Thomas Rhett 48:43 Yeah. Thank you, bud.

Jefferson Fisher 48:44 I, I really, really-

Thomas Rhett 48:44 Pleasure

Jefferson Fisher 48:44 ... appreciate it. It was, um, just all the best to you and your family and especially your new son.

Thomas Rhett 48:49 Thanks, bro.

Jefferson Fisher 48:50 Congratulations.

Thomas Rhett 48:50 I appreciate it. Thanks, man.