Last month, the EntreLeadership team hosted its largest event ever—the EntreLeadership Summit. For four days, more than 1,500 small-business owners and leaders gathered at the Omni Dallas Hotel to learn from some of the top leadership and business experts in the country.

Along with Dave, Seth Godin, Jim Collins, Patrick Lencioni, Dr. Henry Cloud, Chris Hogan, Christy Wright and former President George W. Bush were on hand to share their wisdom.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring some of the lessons taught at the EntreLeadership Summit via our own special correspondent, EntreLeader Kyle Malnati, partner at Madison & Company Properties in Denver, Colorado. We asked Kyle to journal his experiences for us. We’ll start with his thoughts on President Bush. Here’s Kyle.

Today was one of those once-in-a-lifetime, bucket-list moments. Along with more than a thousand business leaders, I was in an audience listening to an interview with former President George W. Bush—live and in person!

It was a high-security event, which I’ve also never experienced before. For obvious reasons, there were Secret Service agents and police present to make sure everything went safely and smoothly.

There was no personal recording, photography or note-taking allowed. We were actually restricted from cell phone use. It’s been a long time since I’ve put my phone away during a meeting or a presentation.

I realized I should probably stow my phone more often. I initially thought, How am I going to learn if I can’t take any notes? It was remarkable. I didn’t write down a single thing during President Bush’s interview with Dave. But I was present, engaged and focused. While I don’t recall every nugget of wisdom, I found a way to remember the main points. I quickly scribbled all of my notes down after the interview was over. Here’s what I wrote:

1. You can learn a lot from history if you don’t get stuck in the past, President Bush said.

2. The three leadership qualities that President Bush looked for when hiring his staff were:
   –Humility: It’s about the mission of the country, not their personal agenda.
   –Faithfulness/Loyalty: They must be able to make a commitment to each other.
   –Honesty: They can’t be afraid to speak up.
3. President Bush said that he was never fearful during his presidency because he relied on the support of a brilliant team of advisors.

4. Popularity is fleeting. When faced with a tough situation, President Bush focused on making the right decision.

5. President Bush’s advice for entrepreneurs: Never get discouraged. Our country needs and depends on you.

6. While you can never be fully prepared for an event like September 11, President Bush said you can control the way you react and communicate:

-You must communicate clearly and to the point.

-You must also remain calm and collected despite calamity. Resist the urge to panic.

7. But out of all of the smart advice I heard from President Bush, the biggest takeaway had nothing to do with business or politics. It’s something I’ll always remind myself of, and you should too. On reflecting on his new book about his father, George H. W. Bush, he said, “The greatest gift a father can give his children is unconditional love.”

I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to get that close to the President of the United States again or hear more sage advice. But I sure hope so. Thank you, President Bush, for your leadership and inspiration.

Want to learn more about leadership and how to keep your team fired up to win? Join your fellow small business owners and leaders May 21-24 in Orlando, Florida at EntreLeadership Summit. Learn from some of the top business and leadership experts in the country, including Dave, Simon Sinek, Lou Holtz, John C. Maxwell, Patrick Lencioni, Chris Hogan, Christy Wright and special guest we’ll soon announce. Reserve you spot now!