Today we will be talking about the Sponge Theory of Success, Failure, and Stress. I came up with the sponge theory many years ago and it described where I was in life and the various stresses going on at the time. Being able to handle stress is vital to our individual well-being, but also vital to our relationships, our work, and to the renewal of excellence in America today.

Welcome to this episode of Honor and Courage, as we continue our campaign to take back America from mediocrity, corruption, immorality, and despair. I’ve entitled this episode My Name is Not Clark Kent. I guess I don’t have to tell you that Clark Kent was really Superman. It was a shocker for me the day I discovered that kryptonite really wouldn't kill me and virtually everything else in the world could and would. Again, for the uninitiated, that means that I am not Superman.

Today we will be talking about some of the dangers a trial judge can face from based on rulings in high profile cases. Over my roughly 15 years as a trial judge, I’ve had at least 13 credible threats made against me by defendants and parties to cases. I’ll give you just a few in this episode. Be sure to check out my other podcast series, Praying with Passion and Honor and Courage. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform. And, be sure to share this episode with your friends.

Today we will be talking about a couple of family law cases. As a general jurisdiction trial judge, I hear just about everything, including cases with a girl in the mirror. Be sure to check out my other podcast series, Praying with Passion and Honor and Courage. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform. And, be sure to share this episode with your friends.

Today we will be talking about a major real estate fraud case. I’ve titled this “Is he wacky or just exercising his rights.” This case involves the fraudulent filing of a deed and mortgage, called a deed of trust, in the county deed records in an effort to basically steal a couple’s home from them, or at least extort money from them in obtaining a release of the false claims. The home was in the country and sat on a few acres of land, so the value of the place was several hundred thousand dollars. When the couple decided to sell and downsize, they found these fraudulent instruments through the title company and it cost them several thousand dollars to get their title cleared so they could sell the land. Because of how the documents were recorded it was a fairly easy investigation to identify who did it, the defendant.

Today we will be discussing leadership. Before you decide you aren’t a leader and don’t need to spend the time with this subject, let me tell you that almost every person is a leader in some form or another, whether in the home, at work, in education, politics, or government. Even if the only person you lead is yourself, the subject of leadership is important. If you only see yourself as a subordinate, frankly, a good subordinate should understand what his or her leader needs to do, and the contents of this podcast will help do that, so please stay with me, and maybe introduce your leader to this podcast.

A view from the bench, a podcast about my experiences and perceptions in the courtroom dealing with the trial of major cases over a legal career spanning almost five decades. The first case I’ll discuss took place not long after I first took the bench. I call it the Scooby Doo child sex case. Sometimes facts truly are stranger than fiction. I won’t name the defendant but I’ll call him Scooby Doo. He modified a Volkswagen bus, shortened it, and painted it to look like the bus in the Scooby Doo cartoon and movie. He drove it around, was seen around local schools and was generally seen as a kind of eccentric but harmless guy. Sometime after moving in with a family, Scooby Doo triggered an internet task force on the lookout for online sexual predators and an investigation started. Eventually, the task force contacted the local district attorney and Scooby Doo was arrested on multiple counts of possession of child pornography.

Today we will be talking about the first principles that have made America strong in the past, and will continue to keep her strong in the future. We tend to get so hung up on our labels and definitions and things that divide us that we lose sight of fundamental or first principles and spend our time facing off and fighting one another over labels. Frankly, it isn’t the labels that define us but our character. And our character is defined by our principles. 

Those principles that make up such a part of us that they are a part of our character. They’re not opinions or suggestions but the bedrock foundations upon which we build our lives. I can identify five first principles that are at the absolute foundation of liberty and of our personal lives: a strong family; a strong national defense; free enterprise; education; and finally, a faith in the true and living God.

Hey there, and welcome to "Honor and Courage," a podcast all about making good choices and being awesome. I'm Albert McCaig, your host with over 45 years of experience as a lawyer and judge in the great state of Texas.

Today, let's chat about something important: the difference between promises and principles. Now, I've seen a lot in my years dealing with serious cases – the stuff you see in the news. Murders, robberies, you name it. But one thing that keeps popping up is people making promises and not keeping them.

Ever wonder why that happens? Especially when it comes to promises of staying out of trouble. I deal with folks who've already promised to be good but end up breaking the rules. Why? Well, I think it's because they don't have the principles to back up their promises.

But here's the real question for all of us: Do we base our actions on promises or on principles?

I want to talk to you today about excellence, and what I call the four cornerstones of excellence. Excellence is not the same as perfection. Perfection is a concept; excellence is a reality. Rarely will we ever find the perfect situation, the perfect relationship, the perfect job, or anything else on this mortal earth being perfect.

Excellence, on the other hand is not just a concept, it is achievable. Doing your best under all circumstances is living a life of excellence. There is no such thing as doing 125%. Either you do your all, or you do less; but you can’t do more than your all. A soldier giving his or her all is just that; all he or she had to give.

Without excellence in what we do, and about how we act, we’re just an average Joe or Jane, just getting by and really not contributing all that much to what’s around us. We need to set a goal to live a life of excellence, just as we discussed last time about our life missions. In order to do that, we must know what makes up excellence. And here it is; here are the four cornerstones of excellence: