So much of the time, we overcomplicate our spiritual journey. We obsess over theology, or practices, or which faith community to invest our time in, what prayers to pray, or even which devotionals and books to read. This comes from a well-intentioned heart; we want to make sure we are doing it “right.” I think the spiritual life isn’t centered around or driven by any of these things. They can help, but it’s a relationship journey, not a program. The core of our journey is first and foremost abou...
Jun 02, 2026•11 min•Ep. 54
Josh LeRoy is the author of Deeper Than Your Pain , a short book about his healing journey through depression. He is the lead pastor of Emmaus Church in Greensboro, NC, and a former prison Chaplain for 10 years. When I was given his book and told it was about depression, I honestly didn’t think I would get much out of it, but I was wrong. The wisdom he shares is applicable to all of our healing journeys. In this interview, Josh shares his story and how God used contemplative prayer to help him f...
May 19, 2026•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 53
I have been thinking about one sentence a lot lately. I believe that it holds a key to understanding how we each should expect to feel in response to Jesus. I would like to share it with you and invite you to join me in pondering these powerful words. JohnWalt.com
May 12, 2026•8 min•Ep. 52
Heather and John Walt discuss self-transcendence and how we can make it a practical in daily life. Heather and I have been having deep conversations since we met. So much of our daily life is filled with discussions about transformation, God’s leading, discipleship, and what we are learning from the books we are reading. This is the first time I get to share one of those conversations with you. Heather loves to make complex things simple and applicable for daily life. She often asks in the middl...
May 05, 2026•31 min•Ep. 51
I recently sat down to record a conversation with my brother-in-law, Greg Spencer, about my book, Every Man's Journey. Usually, I am interviewing other people, so this was a fun opportunity to turn the mics around and answer questions about the book. Greg was the first person to encourage me to start sharing my writing, so it was an honor to look back on the culmination of that work so far. Whether you have read the book or not, I think you will really appreciate this conversation. Johnwalt.com...
Apr 14, 2026•1 hr•Ep. 50
I met Ken Churchill three years ago in San Diego. I was taken with how he thinks and the projects he is working on. After 30 years at Morgan Stanley in Silicon Valley, Ken now works on innovating pathways to societal health. In this interview, he shares his story and the projects he is working on, including healthcare ethics, preventing mass murder, and addressing forgiveness as a public health good. Ken shares some incredible nuggets of wisdom from summarizing the history of philosophical thoug...
Apr 07, 2026•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 49
The more I have been blessed to spend time with people of wisdom, the more I see how they consistently return to seemingly simple truths. Many things in our world we view as linear progressions; we start with less, and we work towards more. The more you learn, the more you know. The more you make, the more you have. It is inherent to assume that people of wisdom have lots of it, that’s true, but it’s the wrong way to look at wisdom. Wisdom isn’t something you amass or even acquire; it is somethi...
Apr 01, 2026•12 min•Ep. 48
This episode is the second chapter of the audiobook for Every Man's Journey, which is currently in production. The print version of the book is now available on Amazon (Here is the link) . Chapter 2 is titled "The Monomyth," it explores the connection between the greatest stories of all time and the journey every man was born to walk in life. There is a deeper story hidden in our favorite myths, books, and movies. it turns out that this timeless story mirrors the same journey that rites of passa...
Mar 17, 2026•16 min•Ep. 47
One of the effects of industrialization and globalization has been a cultural obsession with scale. We can sell a product to millions of people on multiple continents and in many different countries. A message can be shared simultaneously with people around the world. Now, through technology, every person has the potential to take something to scale. From startups to manufacturing, packaged goods, media, influencers, and content producers, the goal in most industries is to reach as many people a...
Mar 03, 2026•9 min•Ep. 46
These prayers are inspired by some of A.W. Tozer’s prayers in his book Knowledge of the Holy . Please join me in praying these powerful prayers as we seek God’s face together.
Feb 24, 2026•4 min•Ep. 45
Recently, I have been studying Bonhoeffer and reading more of his work. I have been struck by the way Bonhoeffer observed Jesus and His Gospel being removed from the Nazi German church. During this same time in America, the humanist movement did the same thing. Two very different situations in almost every way, but both are removing Jesus and the Gospel from Christianity. At first pass, it seems impossible, but upon deeper inspection, what we see is a pattern that repeats itself over and over th...
Feb 10, 2026•12 min•Ep. 44
It is impossible to underestimate the role that storytelling has played in shaping communities, cultures, and civilizations throughout history. Before we had written languages, ancestral tribes relied on oral traditions, built around stories that passed down their collective wisdom and history. Our minds are created to learn through story, not just the passing along of information. Some people can become very good at remembering information, but simply transferring knowledge doesn't lead people ...
Feb 03, 2026•9 min•Ep. 43
I had the privilege of interviewing Eric Swithin, a former combat Marine and businessman who God called into a wild adventure. His journey has taken him from initiating young men in the Rocky Mountains to producing films and ministering in countries around the world. In this conversation, Eric discusses his transformative journey from a troubled childhood to discipling young men and addressing the fatherlessness epidemic in America. We talk about the importance of understanding God as a loving F...
Jan 27, 2026•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 42
If you don’t trust the surgeon, you probably won’t show up for the surgery” - Scott Dohner The original lie satan used in the Garden of Eden as his first attack on humanity was to cause Eve to doubt whether God was trustworthy. Ever since then, the deceiver has continued to use the same attack on all of us. What Eve did when she ate the forbidden fruit was her attempt at taking control of her own life back from God. Often, when we are presented with the lie that God can’t be trusted, we do what ...
Jan 27, 2026•6 min•Ep. 41
In this episode, I read to you the introduction and first chapter of my book Every Man’s Journey. To request a pre-release copy, visit johnwalt.com/books .
Jan 13, 2026•31 min•Ep. 40
Brian Schroller is a master at creating transformational experiences. He left an impressive career in banking to pour into leaders and help them build better businesses. Today, he leads SummitTrek with Paul Nadeau, and their work has expanded around the world, impacting thousands of business leaders on several continents. I have had the privilege of learning from Brian, attending SummitTreks events, and interviewing people whose lives have been changed through their work. In this Interview, Bria...
Dec 30, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 39
Larry Mills started in the parts department of Holt Caterpillar when it was one of the smallest dealerships in the country. He later became Executive Vice President as the company grew into the nation's largest dealership. Larry worked with Ken Blanchard to launch Values-Based Leadership at Holt as it grew rapidly, eventually becoming a highly successful, multi-billion-dollar company built entirely around core ethical values. Through his work with Holt and the success of Values-Based Leadership,...
Dec 16, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 38
Humility gets a bad wrap. Often, the way it is taught to us is a form of self-deprecation. Years ago, a friend of mine from Australia told me about “tall poppy syndrome.” It’s where some people criticize and undermine others who have accomplished something great or who are unusually talented. The idea is that they need to be “brought down to size.” Obviously, this isn’t healthy, and no one wants to be part of a community where people actively undermine those who start to stand out. However, much...
Dec 15, 2025•7 min•Ep. 37
I heard the term "Dark Night of the Soul" for many years before I really began to understand what it was and the critical role it plays in our spiritual journey. During a challenging season, I felt led to read The Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross. But it wasn’t until years later, after going through a very long dark night of the soul, that I learned why this often misunderstood season is so critical.
Nov 25, 2025•11 min•Ep. 36
Fraser Scott is the Executive Director of Bright Hope World, a New Zealand based ministry that works in 30 countries around the world. They focus on serving and ministering to the poorest of the poor. I recently had the privilege of hearing Fraser present and was very impressed with the wisdom he shared and how Bright Hope World approaches global missions and poverty alleviation. I asked Fraser to sit down with me to record a discussion. In this interview, we discuss the identity/dependency spir...
Nov 11, 2025•59 min•Ep. 35
God’s order for creation. “Good is that which all things seek after.” - Thomas Aquinas There is a growing trend in our information-saturated world to act like right and wrong are whatever we feel like they are. Truth has increasingly become a personal choice, like which sports team to cheer for. We have so much information and scientific understanding of the world that we think we are more enlightened than history's past civilizations. In reality, we are just walking a well-worn path that create...
Nov 04, 2025•10 min•Ep. 34
We weren’t made for the world we live in. We weren’t made for a Box-and-Line (Note 8) world. Yet we have to look around us and accept that the entire world is increasingly box-and-line. We weren’t made for job titles, careers in corporations, certifications, accreditation, employee handbooks, roles in organizations or political parties, to name a few. Somehow, we have bought into the lie we have been sold, that our lives should fit into a massive network of systems we call the modern world. It i...
Nov 04, 2025•10 min•Ep. 33
Man’s greatest battle has always been the battle to overcome himself. This simple truth has been all but forgotten in modern society. Before we dive into man’s greatest battle, let’s look at how we forgot one of the most important themes of human life and societal health. Scientific thinking has led to incredible advancements in tools, technology, and medicine that have completely transformed the quality of human life. It is best defined as a systematic, evidence-based way of figuring out how th...
Oct 28, 2025•10 min•Ep. 32
Often, what's most important in life is not something new, but the things we have forgotten and must remember. We are all surrounded every day by endless new information in the form of podcasts, articles, videos, books, news, and AI. It is astounding how much information there is out there, and now it is more accessible than ever. Influencers are constantly selling us their opinions on how we should eat, dress, exercise, work, and live. The abundance of knowledge we are surrounded by every day h...
Oct 21, 2025•8 min•Ep. 31
Peace is completely misunderstood and undervalued in the modern world. Everywhere you look, people are stuck in stress, fear, and anxiety. Few people actually seem to live in real peace. The world is frantically chasing peace by other names all the time, and they don’t even know it. If you distill down the promises of most spiritual teachers, business gurus, social media influencers, and politicians, you find that what they are offering is really just a false version of peace. They are promising...
Oct 14, 2025•8 min•Ep. 30
Scott Dohner has been a mentor of mine for years and has had a profound impact on my life. We sat down and recorded a conversation recently that I would like to share with you. In this episode, Scott shares some of his story and what shaped him and his business journey. Click below to listen to this conversation on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Oct 07, 2025•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 29
Have you ever found yourself wrestling with things that you feel like you should do or ways you think you should act or look? We all have battled the “shoulds” of life in some way, shape or form. Often, this struggle is daily or perhaps constant. We are all unconsciously given sets of expectations for work, sports, community, faith, school, and every other area of our lives. We are told how to fit into the groups we are a part of and how to be successful. Families have their own "shoulds," and t...
Sep 22, 2025•13 min•Ep. 28
Encountering God is a challenging topic to write on. The last few months, it has become clear to me that it’s something we don’t talk enough about. In Note 12, I wrote on the separation of the sacred and the secular. We tend to see sacred things as different from the rest of life, and so they get relegated to church, retreats, and quiet times. We often struggle to see the spiritual overlaying every part of our lives, even the most mundane things. We are spirit and flesh. Without acknowledging an...
Sep 16, 2025•11 min•Ep. 27
Right before I turned 25, I was in Malawi, and the terrorist group Boko Haram had just taken 300 girls from a school in Nigeria. I was so mad about what had happened that I decided I was going to go there and find a way to help. I went on a run one day, to try and blow off some steam. A few miles in, something hit me. God spoke to me; it wasn’t an audible booming voice, but it might as well have been a megaphone the way it resonated in my mind and heart.
Sep 02, 2025•12 min•Ep. 26
I have always loved stories and have studied storytelling for years. As a kid, I read about men who lived incredible adventures and longed to discover the adventure that I would live. I wanted to be one of those great men who stood up to injustice, dared to explore the unknown, challenged the impossible, built an empire, or discovered some secret wisdom. As I got older, I sometimes feared there would be no great adventure for me. I refused, however, to accept ordinary. I didn’t want the white pi...
Aug 26, 2025•7 min•Ep. 25
