Name: Jesse Flocken
Age: 31
Title: CEO, Clearly Relevant Marketing & Media (Gilbert Firefighter for +12years)
Married/Single: married
Kids: we have 2 amazing kids: Greyson Monroe (girl, 4yo) and Beckett David (boy, 2 yo)
City you live in: Kindness, USA. You may know it as Gilbert before its new official nickname.
A typical day in my life includes…
lots of coffee, a noisy house that runs on lots of laughter, kids yelling at “Alexa”, random outbursts of song (mainly by my wife…she is VERY talented…just not at singing) and bed time prayers because only Jesus knows that we need the same amount of grace (or more) to get us through tomorrow too!
I was born…
a people person. When I was in the second grade I was sent to the principles office, walked in and sat down with all the confidence in the world and said, “Wow, you sure do have a nice office… so, how is your day?”
My favorite thing about Arizona…
overcast or rainy days at home because they just don’t happen all that often living in the Valley of the Sun.
I’m listening to…
Frozen…ALL.THE.TIME. Plus Bob Goff, Donald Miller, John Ruhlin, Carl Lentz, Hillsong and Simon Sinek.
My family…
is only alive, fed, bathed, dressed well (including me), humored and well taken care of because of my sweet, quiet wife Courtney. Well, all of that is true except quiet; she is a true spitfire, a quick-witted force to be reckoned with and all my best jokes come from her when she is not around, haha.
If I could have dinner with anyone, it would be…
I mean my wife, of course! She is smokin’ hot J And in this season of life it doesn’t happen nearly enough. And no she is not threatening me right now.
One thing I cannot live without…
did I say coffee?!?
When I was younger, I wanted to be…
a firefighter.
I’m inspired by…
seeing real people making real life transformations in everyday life. I love hearing stories and seeing first hand friends achieving their goals such as eliminating debt, creating a budget Dave Ramsey style, achieving better health in and out of the gym, eating healthier, working on their marriage, getting involved at church or a small group or just tapping into the talents God blessed them with instead of wishing they had someone else’s giftings and missing out on their own.
The one person who motivates me is…
my dad, he is always kind, helpful, willing to listen to anyone, wise, encouraging, a true servant, humble enough to know he can’t do life without Jesus, yet strong enough to stand up for what is right, especially protecting those without a voice.
If I could change anything in the world, it would be…
to make life simpler, like flip phone simple. A friend, who happens to be a C-Suite Executive, got rid of his smart phone so people had to actually call him, meet with him in person or email during normal hours to connect truly leaving work well, at work. We could all benefit, especially our families, from more simplicity.
The perfect day would be…
all of March, great weather, the kids’ spring break, walking to The Coffee Shop in my neighborhood, Cubs Spring Training, my anniversary, my birthday, great food in downtown Gilbert, then be asleep before 10pm. That would be perfect, but then again I pretty much just said my perfect day would be ALL the days in March so does that even count?
My first job was…
lifeguard.
My favorite escape…
the Montelucia for a staycation while the grandparents keep the kids or Disneyland with the whole family.
My life…
is not perfect by any stretch, but we have a sign in our house that says, “Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful.” Annnnd we have a sign that says, “I’m sorry for what I said when I was hungry.” The two pretty much go hand in hand.
I’m currently working on…
being more intentional with the people right in front of me whether it’s my children, my wife, a friend, a stranger, a worker or a client. I just need to stop and listen to those around me. It’s more important than any to-do list I have going on. You never know what someone is going through chances are in a storm, just came out of one, or getting ready to go into one! I never regret taking the time to listen.
Always…
be available to those right in front of you. Bob Goff said it best and I’ll paraphrase: “people ask me what made me so successful, I say I am never the smartest person in the room, the richest or even the most successful but I will ALWAYS be the most available in the room to those around me.”
Never…
say “no” to a foam sword fight! This forces us to drop the chaos of the day to spontaneously chase the kids…and sometimes my wife too J It has a funny way to make you present in the moment with the things that matter the most to you. My wife and I agreed early on, during trying times with an undiagnosed severe food allergy in our son, we were thankful for the noisy halls rather than the alternative of deafening silence of life without our children. My family and friends have had different struggles with infertility, miscarriages, special needs or just struggling through singleness. We could never imagine being in their shoes, but choose to remain thankful for the joy and challenges of life.
Favorite Quote…
I have two. “Do epic sh!t, you did not wake up today to be mediocre”. I had that hand pressed onto a letter pressed card and sent it to a group of Christian pastors and speakers. On a more serious note my other favorite quote is, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, ‘I used everything You gave me’. – Erma Bombeck
Biggest Dream…
why have just one? I suffer from what a psychiatrist would call “idealistic distortion” a.k.a. rosy colored glasses. I really do feel like we live in a time and place where just about anything really is possible. You and I should dream big, dream small, dream daily, follow the dreams that God equipped and designed each of us to do. If I can’t do it on my own, then I will go meet the people that can and encourage them to succeed!
My Pet Peeve(s)…
hearing my wife file her nails…like, I just can’t.
More about Jesse…
Jesse Flocken is founder and CEO of Clearly Relevant, a marketing and media company based in Gilbert, Arizona. By day Flocken runs Clearly Relevant which includes Fortune 500 clients such as PetSmart, and global movements like the Pay It Forward campaign. When Flocken and his team aren’t saving businesses from confusing their customers with complex marketing strategies, he serves the citizens of Gilbert as a professional firefighter at Gilbert Station 4. Flocken is also a family man with his wife Courtney and two young children and together they volunteer on YoungLife Committee.
Jesse understands the frustrations behind spending time and money on marketing that confuses customers. This frustration is why Jesse and his team at Clearly Relevant are passionate about guiding companies to achieve clarity inside and out. Flocken attributes his achieved success to the guidance of constant influencers in his life. By aligning his values, faith, upbringing, and years of customer service as a firefighter, he combined a proven framework with a business model that guides companies to produce messages that are clear to their customers as well as creating culture change from within.
Flocken, started his career as a firefighter and while he was on track to attend medical school, he was side-tracked with an opportunity to produce employee Loss Prevention & Safety programs for Fortune 500 companies. After seeing the impact of his team’s work radically transform company cultures from the inside, Flocken realized marketing and media could be used as a force of good to empower people to love why they do what they do. From there, Flocken grew his team and client base, and now they are one of the most sought-after companies to produce impactful internal employee engagement campaigns and full service marketing and media offerings. Flocken and his team rebranded and marketed the Pay It Forward Campaign which has gained the attention of Facebook, WWE, PetSmart and international media. Their work has also been seen on TV screens and big box retail shelves nationwide as they created one-of-a-kind packaging for LugBug, which is sold nationwide and recently appeared on an episode of SharkTank.
More about Clearly Relevant…
Clearly Relevant shows companies how to invite their customers into a story that creates truthful and profitable engagement. Most companies waste time and money with marketing that confuses customers. Clearly Relevant crafts clear marketing that creates profit and helps companies grow. What started as a Loss Prevention and Safety production company has branched into a full-service marketing and media agency that radically transforming cultures from within. Stunning visuals and memorable marketing experiences are crafted for internal communication programs and consumer facing branding and marketing campaigns.
