This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt.
From renewable energy companies with high-free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the SP 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com/slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio.
That's public.com/slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool.
Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures. Yeah. Kids, pets, life, your sofa sees it all. But with a washable sofa, stains don't stand a chance.
All of our sofa collections come with fully machine-washable covers and cushions, making cleanup effortless. Liquid and stain-resistant fabrics provide extra protection against everyday messes. Plus, with modular designs, you can rearrange your sofa however you like. Perfect for growing families and changing spaces. Starting at just $699, it's time to upgrade to a stress-free, mess-proof sofa.
Visit washable sofas.com today and save. Offers are subject to change, and certain restrictions may apply. You're listening to a podcast, so you're doing something else too, like maybe scrolling home listings on Redfin, saving places you like without thinking you'll get them, because that's what house hunting has become. But Redfin isn't built for endless browsing, it's built to help you find and own a home. Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents, which means when you find a place you love, you've got a real shot at getting it.
Redfin helps turn saved listings into Real addresses. Get started at redfin.com. Own the dream. Do you want to find a stress free way to buy your next car? Start at CarMax and shop your way.
And if you want to browse with confidence, get pre-qualified online with no impact on your credit score and shop cars within your budget, from luxury cars to family rides. CarMax has options for almost every price range, including more than 25,000 cars priced under $25,000.
So hey, wanna get started? Just head to CarMax.com for details and get pre-qualified today. Wanna drive? CarMax. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people.
Coming to you from the city where the West begins, Fort Worth, Texas. Auntie Ann Biler is best known as the founder of Auntie Ann's, the world's largest pretzel franchise. Here to tell her story in a talk she gave at Biola University is the Pretzel Queen herself. Any Biler. Let's take a listen.
I was born a little Amish girl in Lexter County, Pennsylvania. Five boys, three girls, one mom, one dad. You know, the old-fashioned way. Ten of us. We were raised to love God and to love each other.
My dad said to work hard. We hear the line a lot today, work smarter. My dad made me believe if I work hard I am smart. Be kind to each other. My mom said every day: little children, love each other.
do not give each other pain. when one speaks to you in anger, do not answer them again. Every day we heard that. I believe that one of the greatest lessons I learned on the farm was to Persevere. You do what you don't feel like doing.
You do it anyway. At the age of twelve, I would make sixty or seventy pies and cakes by myself, in the basement of our old farmhouse. In a big old pizza oven And I'd walk down there, wipe the tears from my eyes because I did not want to do that. My mom and dad would come home from market that night. And my Dad was so proud, and he would tell every customer My daughter made those pies, my daughter made those cakes.
So at the age of twelve. My bakery was pretty well. It had reached a peak. Like, I can sell my wares, my goods, my baked goods. and my dad was proud of me.
That was there was something about all of that. That really set the pace for me. I really thought I hit the jackpot the day I married Jonas. Byler.
Now with a name like Jonas Byler, You know that he was Amish. It's just. You don't have to wonder, yes, he he was Amish. We were young, we were innocent, and filled with love for each other and for God. and we were living our dream as a young Amish girl, all I ever wanted in life.
was my very own family. I have to tell you though, forty-six years of being married to this man. He's not quite as tall. His last doctor checkup, he's a half inch shorter. Yeah.
His hair is not so dark. But he's still really handsome. And I still believe I hit the jackpot the day I married. Jonah Spiler. God gave me more than I deserved.
The secret is Find someone. that loves God More. then he loves youth. That is not a guarantee. But I can tell you that's a very good start.
In a relationship. In a few short years after being married, Our dreams were broken. Our nineteen-month-old little girl, Angela. was killed in a tragic farm accident as she was walking from our little double Y trailer to my mom and dad's house just up the lane. It was during that time that she was run over.
By uh Bobcat. My sister was driving at the time and she was killed instantly. My grief? was too deep For words. And I began to withdraw into a place.
of silence. My husband and I drifted apart. This took me into great depra into a a great Deep depression. And based on that I went to our pastor. Who we thought was a good man at that time.
And I walked into his office that Monday morning, about five months after our daughter was killed. And as I left his office, he seduced me, and I stayed in an abusive relationship. For six. Long. Years.
The grief that I experience with Angela? As deep as that was. The abuse took me to the abyss of hell. Of despair. of darkness of guilt.
Of suicide. Being broken in spirit from 1974 to 1964. eighty four. had me believing That God was finished with me. In 1984, My husband and I walked into a church in Austin, Texas.
Broken in spirit We were welcomed by the pastor and his wife. Tom and Brenda Wilson. Their love. And the people in that congregation Restored us back to spiritual health. I had no idea at that time.
that God had anti Annes. on his mind. Through our tragedy, Jonas and I began to put our life back together again. with the help of marriage counselling. And Jonas decided This is exciting.
I want to help other couples get through their struggles. and their marriages. Just help people.
So he began to study. psychology and became a counselor. And did free counseling in our community for over 15 years. When he started counseling, and he was doing it as a brief service. That meant one thing for me.
I needed to go to work. And make the dough. Yeah. The pretzel dough, that is. And you've been listening to one heck of a story told by Annie Byler.
about the tragic loss of her daughter's life. than the even more tragic abuse delivered to her by the person Well, the last person who should, her pastor, But then reclaiming her faith. And reclaiming her story and her relationship with God. When we come back, the story of Auntie Ann and her pretzel empire. Here on Our American Stories.
Lee Habib here, and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our American Stories on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or wherever you get our podcasts. Any story you missed or want to hear again can be found there daily. Again, Please subscribe to the Our American Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you get your podcasts. It helps us keep these great American stories coming. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously.
On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high-free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the SP 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks.
Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com/slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com/slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc.
member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com slash.
disclosures. Sink into affordable luxury. Anabay is the only machine-washable sofa inside and out. With stain-resistant slip covers and a cloud-like frame duvet, everything goes right in the wash. Plus, the modular design lets you change the look of your space anytime.
Visit washable sofas.com to upgrade your home. Shop up to 60% off site-wide, with sofas starting at just $699 and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Shop now at washable sofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Let's talk about modern home shopping.
It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or back yards you haven't even stepped foot in, all from the comfort of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own, but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears.
Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it, that's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2,200 agents with local expertise. And Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win, not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait, this could actually be home.
So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's redfin.com. You know what quality feels like. You can see it in the way a fabric moves, recognize it in a flawless fit, and appreciate it in the details that make our styles unique.
It's the standard Coldwater Creek has honored for over 40 years. Derived from a rich Mountain West heritage and designed for today in styles that are distinctively Coldwater Creek. For a wardrobe you can count on season after season, visit ColdwaterCreek.com, shop new arrivals, and save 15% on purchases $75 or more with code iHeart. And we continue with Our American Stories and the story of Auntie Annie Byler. And she's best known as the founder of Auntie Anne's, the world's largest pretzel franchise.
Let's return to the talk she gave. at Biola University. My decision to go to work was based on our financial need and not on a smart. Business Plan From a housewife. to corporate America almost overnight.
Ante hand started in 1988. And we knew from. The very early days of months of anti-N's. Anti-N's was created to give. God wanted to use anti-hands as a vehicle for missions.
I can tell you that purpose with passion. It's dangerous. Three things that I did not have when I started Auntie Ann's, and the obstacles that I had to overcome. There were many. But three things in particular, education, formal education.
Capital and a business plan. I went through the eighth grade. Because that's Amish culture. It's what you do. And when you're done.
With eighth grade, you got on the farm and you help mom and dad or you go get a job.
So what we did is all I knew.
So I'm not a dropout. We had no capital. We had come back after living in Texas. And we have twenty-five dollars. Cash I had no plan, had no 401k.
I didn't know what a 401k was. I didn't know what CDs were, I didn't know what I, I knew nothing, period, about business or banking. And I felt intimidated. As I made My rounds in the business world And I became fearful. I began to whine.
You know. whine and cry to my husband. Oh, I wish I would be Like him, like her. I wish I. He said to me one day, Stop whining.
And just be. Who God May you. That sounds like simple, not too profound. But at the time It was very important for me to hear those words. During that time, God took me through the verse in Psalm 32, verse 8.
He said, I will instruct you. And I We'll teach you in the way. That you should go. And I'll counsel you with my eye, And I took him literal. It was very clear to me there were three things.
that I had. I had A great Purpose. I had Great. product and I had great People. And when you focus on what you have.
You don't have any time left. to think about What you don't Have. And when we started Ant Hands in 1988 with a $6,000 loan from my father-in-law. We bought our first market stand. By nineteen ninety two we were opening our one hundredth store.
The growth for me was fast and intense. By 1995, we were opening our first International store halfway around the world in Jakarta, Indonesia. Yeah. I mean, why? E and L.
People will say to me, Well, why did you go to Jakarta to Indonesia? My simple answer to the question is: I guess I thought that if we could do business halfway around the world, Anything closer would be easier. Yeah. What I learned early on as the founder and CEO of a fast-growing organization was that. If we were going to grow as an organization, then and fulfil our purpose than I.
the owner, the founder, the leader, then I would have to grow. personally. You cannot grow professionally if you do not grow personally. That meant to me to live a life of purpose, meant them that I had to get over me. I had to grow in every aspect of my life, which meant to read books.
I went to seminars. I went to conferences till I was so sick of going to conferences. Week after week, month after month, leadership, management, franchise consult. You name it, I was there. because I knew I had to grow.
Over time, I became comfortable in my own skin. and confidential. in the position that God put me in. And it became very clear to me, it's not about me. Mm-hmm.
But it was about the purpose. I became passionate about our employees. And I've always been passionate about the product. Today I don't own the company anymore. But the unfortunate part is that my name is still there.
And I said, Linda, I cannot help myself. If I come to your store and the pretzels are not perfect, I just, mmm. I'm passionate about the product. And the employees and their needs. And I'm here to tell you that if you care about your employees, They will be loyal to your purpose.
Guaranteed. I read a book on Lincoln on leadership. Lincoln was dubbed with an MBWA. Manage by walking. around.
I could relate to that. It's all I ever did. Walk around in my office and talk to people. I knew if I talked to them and cared for them. I mean, I didn't know at that time.
But I wanted to know them and care for them. I loved them. and discovered much later If you care for your people, They'll be loyal to your purpose. When I started Antienn's, I was surprised at how business was being done because remember, I didn't know anything about business. I hadn't made my rounds out there in corporate yet.
I didn't know. I mean, I grew up on an Amish farm. It was all about integrity. I knew that ATNs had to be the kind of company that would honor God in all that we did. Can we do it perfectly 100% all the time?
No. But I believe the model is there, and to be excellent and to care about building a company of integrity. Who would have thought? Not a pretzel. as a common Pretzels date all the way back to six ten AD.
God took this little Amish girl. from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. all around the world. Sewing pretzels We sold the company 05 and Built a family center. to help families in need.
But all during the years, I kept going back to the promise that God gave to me. I'll teach you. I'll instruct you. I'll help you. And I can tell you.
He was faithful to his promise. And he not only taught me, But he walked with me. Every step the way. And he helped me. Mother Teresa once said You don't have to be famous.
to be effective. You just have to be. Faithful. And a terrific job on the production and editing by our own Greg Hengler. And a special thanks to Biola University for the story you just heard.
And that, of course, is Auntie Ann Byler's remarkable life story, born out of tragedy, the very worst kind. And then triumphing despite it, and putting her faith in the Lord. But also, well, what she did was she had to get over herself. and she had to grow personally. which she did relentlessly.
And over time I became comfortable in my own skin. and confident in the position God placed me. And we can only hope for that in everyone who's listening. that you can get to that place, that we can all get to that place. And as Ann Byler said in the end, God took this little Amish girl all around the world selling pretzels.
God not only taught me, but He walked with me. every step of the way. The story of Auntie Ann's Pretzels Which in the end is Ann Byler's story. Here are On our American Stories. Yeah.
Hot take. You can disagree with someone and not hate them. I know, really groundbreaking stuff. But lately, that line seems blurry because hate is rising across communities in all kinds of ways, and Jewish communities are getting a lot of it right now. You don't have to agree with people, you just have to not be awful.
The Blue Square is a simple way to say, I'm with you, and I don't tolerate hate of any kind. Go to bluesquarealliance.org, get a pin, share it, and stand up. Kids, pets, life, your sofa sees it all. But with a washable sofa, stains don't stand a chance. All of our sofa collections come with fully machine-washable covers and cushions, making cleanup effortless.
Liquid and stain-resistant fabrics provide extra protection against everyday messes. Plus, with modular designs, you can rearrange your sofa however you like. Perfect for growing families and changing spaces. Starting at just $699, it's time to upgrade to a stress-free, mess-proof sofa. Visit washable sofas.com today and save.
Offers are subject to change, and certain restrictions may apply. You know what quality feels like. You can see it in the way a fabric moves, recognize it in a flawless fit, and appreciate it in the details that make our styles unique. It's the standard Coldwater Creek has honored for over 40 years, derived from a rich Mountain West heritage and designed for today in styles that are distinctively Coldwater Creek. For a wardrobe you can count on season after season, visit ColdwaterCreek.com, shop new arrivals, and save 15% on purchases $75 or more with code iHeart.
Your social media feed delivers plenty of advice, but it doesn't know you. It doesn't ask questions. It doesn't give physical exams or order tests. Doctors do. At the American Medical Association, we believe the best care starts with a real conversation with someone who understands the science and your unique health.
So stay curious, ask questions, but when it's time to make decisions, make them with a doctor. Learn more at amahealthvershype.org. That's amahealthvshype.org.
