Real conversations and topics that inspire the pursuit of daily growth through humility, connection, and hard work.
We have no right to gripe about younger generations not knowing their job. If they don’t know how to do the job we’re failing as leaders. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what you came from, great things can come from you!
Putting Our People First At the heart of my message and basically everything I do with leadership is the statement that it's vital to put our people first. It is no accident that I ended up with the title of Crew 1st Culture. People want to feel valued and supported, that is basic human nature. Put your crew first and they will do everything they possibly can to accomplish whatever task is given to them. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & h...
Welcome to the Movement! This series of videos is geared towards professional development for those on departments that don’t have any. It’s been eating at me for over a year so I’ve finally decided that this is what I can do about it. The content will be different from the podcast because it’ll be structured towards specific topics but will be similar. I’m excited about it because it’s been a weight on me that I want to get off. The Underground Leadership Movement is for all of us that want to ...
I’m blessed to be joined today for part 2 of a 2 part conversation with one of America’s favorite personalities of the fire service, Ric Jorge. In part 1 Ric went into a little bit of his story but we mainly focused on training, mindset, and of course firefighter resiliency which he is well known for. This episode he digs deeper into his story, his purpose, and the importance of finding your own purpose and mission. It was great to meet and start to get to know Ric, he is the epitome of someone ...
Monday Mindset Check - From the outside, courage is a term that our citizens use regularly to describe those in the fire service. But are we truly embodying courage or are we imposters that hide behind a thin veil of strength and bravery but are truly crippled by fear on the inside where it counts. To gain your purpose in life Your have To face your fears, you have to get out of your comfort zone, you have to be contagious in the face of pain and grief. Thank you for listening! Click here to lea...
I’m blessed to be joined today for part 1 of a 2 part conversation with one of America’s favorite personalities of the fire service, Ric Jorge. In part 1 Ric goes into a little bit of his story but we mainly focus on training, mindset, and of course firefighter resiliency which he is well known for. It was great to meet and start to get to know Ric, he is the epitome of someone using the circumstances they’ve lived through to help others and make a lasting impact in countless lives. I hope that ...
It’s so easy to create a narrative in your head about how dumb someone’s choices were, how lazy someone is because of things they didn’t get done, and so on when we look at the situation through our own perspective. And we’re always quick to jump to the opinion that they are in the wrong because of the difference. What we need to do is put ourselves in their shoes to gain a little bit different perspective. Perspective makes all the difference. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a mess...
My guest today is Jim Moss. Jim is the coauthor of Firefighter Functional Fitness and recently has released another book on his own Firefighter Success. We discuss some of the parts of Firefighter Success that were the most impactful to me and dig deeper into areas like humility, values, and mentoring. I really enjoyed the book and suggest it to anyone. See more on Jim and his book on Facebook at Firefighter Success, Instagram at @firefightersuccess , or head to his website at www.firefightersuc...
Some times as parents/spouses/leaders we have to make a decision between options that all suck. As we get older decision making send to get harder. We gain more responsibility, become parents, and life starts hitting us with everything that it can. Even if every choice we have to pick from carries risk and the potential for bad outcomes we still have to make a decision. Being a grown up some times sucks, don’t make it worse by avoiding the hard decisions. Thank you for listening! Click here to l...
My guest today is Kyle Kondoff. Kyle is a Texas firefighter with a story to tell. Kyle talks about his fight through multiple serious injuries (one that nearly took his life), and being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes with all the challenges that have come with that. Kyle is an inspiration and a voice to a huge Diabetic community. He teaches us all that no matter what life hits us with we have to keep going. I’m honored to have Kyle on to tell his story and to hopefully be able to help give him a...
Do the right thing even if it means breaking some rules! Those are words from an Instagram post from @firefightersuccess and that’sa decision that sooner or later we probably will have to make. The risk/benefit model doesn’t only apply to emergency scenes, we also need to be weighing the risk versus rewards in the firehouse. The mental health, morale, team work, and relationships of the crew need to carry some weight when it comes to their importance. Some decisions don’t have easy answers, some...
Justin Lorenzen joins me today. Justin works for the Oklahoma City Fire Department in their training division. Justin shares his insight of what he has seen from the other side and lessons that he's learned from all the people and crews that he has trained. His bottom line that we need to be better at - Humility (and I agree). Being humble solves so many problems and lacking humility causes so many. Justin also discusses the importance of recording data from grabs and the Firefighter Rescue Surv...
It’s a great day! How long has it been since you’ve heard that? Now days, we most likely don’t hear it much. But if you’rea firefighter that’s exactly what you should be saying every day you arrive at the fire house. We are so blessed to be able to do what we do and we should be so grateful for that opportunity. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what you came from, great things can come fro...
I’m joined today by a fellow podcast host that has been killing it for 4 years now. James Geering is my guest, host of the popular podcast Behind The Shield Podcast and author of the book “One More Light”. James talks about being a host and getting the opportunity to share incredible stories from the lives of amazing people. Special thanks to our sponsor Wood’s Forcible Entry Door Kits. I’m proud to be associated with this company, it’s a great group of guys who put out a great product. Go check...
No matter what your family Is like or what choices have been made for generations, or what has always been done at your department; we always get to make our own choices. So is there something that needs to stop at home or at work? Then be the one to stop it. Is there something at home out work that has never been done or that no one has accomplished? Then be the first one to do it. We all have a story and the best part is that as long as we’re alive we always have the option of making it better...
Today I am joined by stand up comedian and inspirational YouTuber Rodney Norman. Rodney shares his story of finding a different avenue to share humor after his ability to perform in front of crowds was taken away. He also talks about the importance of humor and not taking yourself so seriously in the serious world we live in. Special thanks to our sponsor Wood’s Forcible Entry Door Kits. I’m proud to be associated with this company, it’s a great group of guys who put out a great product. Go chec...
Episode 73 was my first attempt at a live show. For this Monday Mindset Check I dig into the responsibility that we take on as leaders and the weight that we should feel with that. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what you came from, great things can come from you!
Today I’m joined by who I feel is one of the biggest up and coming voices for a better fire service. Ljay Geist shares his passion, his positivity, and his humility with me in one of my favorite conversations so far. I wanted him to be my first guest of 2021 and give him a chance to help us all focus on the positive and take the best out of every situation. I hope to hear lots more from Ljay because he’sa shining light and that’s what we need. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a messa...
Even though we may not be where we want to be as a crew as long as we have a foundation of respect and built relationships we will accomplish great things. The rest will come over time with continued effort but we have to have that foundation. Team Before Self, that’s something that needs to be nonnegotiable. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what you came from, great things can come from y...
Some of the most special guests I’ve ever had join me today for this last episode of 2020, my kids. I thought it would be fun to hear what leadership looks like through the minds of our youngest generation. There’sa lot to be learned from even kids and also remind us of how important it is for us to be living the example because they are always watching us. Happy New Year! Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No...
What a year, I take a little time to look back at the good that came from 2020 and look forward to what’s to come in 2021. Happy New Year everyone and thank you for listening. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what you came from, great things can come from you!
Jarrod Sergi joins me today. Jarrod is the author of No Nonsense Leadership and has the Trial By Fire social media pages. Jarrod has some great insight into leadership, team building, and mentoring that he’s gained from his years I’m not only the fire service but also the military. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what you came from, great things can come from you!...
“Now we are not afraid, although we know there is much to fear!” Lyrics from When You Believe by Pentatonix. Such a great song and message which I try to share with those of us who are struggling with fear, pain, or whatever battle you’re fighting. I hope you all have a great holiday season! Thank you! Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what you came from, great things can come from you!...
It such an honor to be joined today by a mentor to so many of us, Chief Frank Viscuso. What I have come to love the most about Chief Viscuso’s message is that he always finds a way to bring it back to family. Just like I love being around people that are passionate about the fire service because that passion is contagious, I also love being around people that are passionate about their family and for the same reasons. We love our families and want nothing more than to see them succeed and reach ...
With the new year approaching we can’t expect it to be any better than this one unless we do things differently than we did this year. The best opportunities for personal growth usually come from the worst circumstances that we’re faced with. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what you came from, great things can come from you!...
Chief Jason Hoevelmann joins me today. The author of No Exceptions Leadership and The New Company Officer as well as lots of articles, I’ve been looking forward to talking with and learning from the Chief. As a starting point he discusses when to know if you’re ready to promote and when it may be necessary to gain some more experience first. But as all good conversations go, we go lots of other directions as well. Special thanks to our sponsor Wood’s Forcible Entry Door Kits. I’m proud to be ass...
It’s so much easier to cuddle up in our comfort zones instead of stepping out and working to learn, grow, and get better. But those comfort zones are really danger zones because in them there is no growth and nothing will ever get better. Find the strength to try something new, to push yourself harder, and to make your life better. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what you came from, great...
Joining me for the second time is Brooke Ames. Today we dig into the topic of Perception and the role it plays for those of us trying to do good things for the fire service. The Perception of others can be taken many different ways. We can use it as an excuse to quit trying because of negative perceptions of us and allow them to be a stumbling block keeping us from sharing our message. Or we can use it as a motivator and no matter how we are perceived we keep pushing forward because we know we a...
Today’s thoughts come from a quote from Vince Lombardi, “Individual commitment to a group effort, that’s what makes a team work.” Such a simple yet awesome quote. Teams are nothing without individuals and the key to the whole statement is “commitment”. To reach the true potential of the team all the individuals have to be committed to a single goal. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what yo...
On November 22 I had the pleasure of being a guest on the Unlock Your Culture Webcast. This is hosted by 4 guys that i really respect Sean Duffy, Marc Aloan, John Hayowyk, and Pablo Gener. I really enjoyed my time on there and it was a really good conversation about Growth Through Humility. With the blessing from the 4 hosts I am releasing it on my podcast platform. So many thanks to those guys and I hope you get a lot out of the conversation. You can also find this episode on their YouTube chan...
