Army of Normal Folks

At 16, Sean Pica made a decision that landed him in a maximum security prison. Now he holds multiple master's degrees and serves as president of Hudson Link - the nonprofit whose prison education programs once gave him a reason to believe his life wasn't over. In this episode, Sean shares his story and tells us why fewer than 2% of Hudson Link's graduates return to prison. 

ARMY ACTIONS

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Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/

Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org

Record a testimonial or recommend a guest - https://army.storytap.com/906/start/anf-listeners?epdescription

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Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 16, Sean Pica made a decision that landed him in a maximum security prison. Now he holds multiple master's degrees and serves as president of Hudson Link - the nonprofit whose prison education programs once gave him a reason to believe his life wasn't over. In this episode, Sean shares his story and tells us why fewer than 2% of Hudson Link's graduates return to prison. 

ARMY ACTIONS

Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!

Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/

Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org

Record a testimonial or recommend a guest - https://army.storytap.com/906/start/anf-listeners?epdescription

Follow us on all socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks

X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Shop Talk, Bill and Alex take on the nine million self-help books promising to fix your life, from 4:17 a.m. ice baths to journaling and cutting carbs, and go back to the one that has stuck around for decades: Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Bill walks through all seven, from quitting the complaining about what you can't control to learning to listen to someone without preparing a rebuttal. His case is that your calendar is a more honest statement of your priorities than your mouth. That opens a bigger conversation about being a good neighbor: why generosity is a habit and not one check, why curiosity is becoming a radical act, and why character gets built in ordinary decisions, not giant moments. Plus Alex's idea for a yearly seven-habit scorecard and why he's heading to Vegas to sharpen the saw.

ARMY ACTIONS

Sign up for the newsletter: https://normalfolks.org/#newsletter-cta

Join or start a local service club: https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/

Take the 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service": https://normalfolks.org/10-level-challenge/

Have an idea for a Shop Talk or a guest for the show? Write Bill anytime at [email protected]

Follow us on all socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks

X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/

—

0:00 Welcome to the Shop: 9 Million Self-Help Books

0:32 What Are Stephen Covey's 7 Habits?

1:25 How to Stop Worrying About What You Can't Control

3:03 Why Your Calendar Shows Your Real Priorities

6:24 How Small Habits Build Character

9:29 How to Avoid Burnout and Sharpen the Saw

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Bill sits down with Rob Maaddi, senior NFL writer for the Associated Press and host of Faith on the Field, who partied with the athletes he covered and was divorced by 30, empty, broke and broken. After 36 straight days of drinking, a woman who told him she wasn't meant for him walked him to the front of Times Square Church. Today he plays softball in prison yards with the Deacons Prison Ministry, where an inmate who threatened to shank him came back to thank him. That opens a bigger conversation about where purpose comes from: why Super Bowl champions ask "now what" two days after the parade, why a pastor told him to take Jesus to his marketplace instead of quitting the AP, and what John Harbaugh's 95-5 rule teaches anyone raising kids. Plus Tony Dungy, the Hall of Fame coach who ushers at his church.

—

ARMY ACTIONS

Sign up for the newsletter: https://normalfolks.org/#newsletter-cta

Join or start a service club: https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/

Take the 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service": https://normalfolks.org/10-level-challenge/

Listen to Rob's show, Faith on the Field: https://faithonthefieldshow.com/

Have an idea for a Shop Talk or a guest for the show? Write Bill anytime at [email protected]

—

Follow us on all socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks

X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Bill sits down with Rob Maaddi, senior NFL writer for the Associated Press and host of Faith on the Field, who partied with the athletes he covered and was divorced by 30, empty, broke and broken. After 36 straight days of drinking, a woman who told him she wasn't meant for him walked him to the front of Times Square Church. Today he plays softball in prison yards with the Deacons Prison Ministry, where an inmate who threatened to shank him came back to thank him. That opens a bigger conversation about where purpose comes from: why Super Bowl champions ask "now what" two days after the parade, why a pastor told him to take Jesus to his marketplace instead of quitting the AP, and what John Harbaugh's 95-5 rule teaches anyone raising kids. Plus Tony Dungy, the Hall of Fame coach who ushers at his church.

—

ARMY ACTIONS

Sign up for the newsletter: https://normalfolks.org/#newsletter-cta

Join or start a service club: https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/

Take the 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service": https://normalfolks.org/10-level-challenge/

Listen to Rob's show, Faith on the Field: https://faithonthefieldshow.com/

Have an idea for a Shop Talk or a guest for the show? Write Bill anytime at [email protected]

—

Follow us on all socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks

X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bob Buford had already won - he built his family's media business into a major cable company and sold it for an estimated $300 million. Then his 24-year-old son passed away. Buford spent the second half of his life helping others and writing the bestselling book "Halftime".

In this Shop Talk, we dig into his idea that your money, career, skills, and even your failures aren't just measures of what you've accomplished - they're assets you can deploy for someone else. Purpose doesn't have a retirement age. Your second half can be your best one.

ARMY ACTIONS

Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!

Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks

Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/

Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Bill sits down with Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe for a Supporting Greatness conversation about the three normal men who made him: a grandfather who only went to the seventh grade, a scoutmaster who ran Boy Scout Troop 16 like an organized gang and made a stammering kid sing to 200 people, and a music teacher who told him to stutter on his own time.

Mike traces Dirty Jobs to a call from his mother at 42 and the sewer footage that got him fired from CBS. That opens a bigger conversation about who supports greatness: why enduring discomfort is never enough, why a comfort zone becomes a human stop sign, and why one of the smartest men Mike ever met never finished school. Plus faking his way into the Baltimore Opera, three firings from QVC, and work ethic scholarships for people who skip the four-year degree.

ARMY ACTIONS

Sign up for the newsletter: https://normalfolks.org/#newsletter-cta

Join or start a service club: https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/

Take the 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service": https://normalfolks.org/10-level-challenge/

Learn about Mike Rowe's work ethic scholarships at mikeroweWORKS: https://mikeroweworks.org/

Have an idea for a Shop Talk or a guest for the show? Write Bill anytime at [email protected]

Follow us on all socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks

X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/

—

0:00 Mike Rowe on Supporting Greatness

2:20 Mike Rowe on His Grandfather and Dirty Jobs

12:57 How Mike Rowe Got Fired From CBS

18:32 Why Mike Rowe Had a Stutter as a Kid

21:23 What Boy Scouts Was Like in 1975

22:41 Why Enduring Discomfort Isn't Enough

30:54 Why Your Comfort Zone Is a Human Stop Sign

32:48 Mike Rowe on Music Teacher Fred King

39:17 The Audition That Ended His Stutter

45:30 How Mike Rowe Faked His Way Into the Opera

54:29 Why Dirty Jobs Never Did a Second Take

59:23 Mike Rowe on Work Ethic Scholarships

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's not a matter of if a disaster hits your community. It's when. And when it does, the first person on the scene isn't first responders or government officials. It's your neighbor.

Jeff Byard has spent 24 years in disaster response - from the Marine Corps to Alabama Emergency Management to FEMA. Then he left to go work with Team Rubicon - a volunteer lead disaster relief organization. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Bill to talk about what he learned from a career of showing up for people on their worst day - and what every one of us can do right now to be ready when our neighbors need us most.

You'll walk away knowing how to prepare your family before disaster strikes, why your next-door neighbor is the most important first responder in any emergency, and how ordinary people are doing some of the most important disaster relief work in the country through Team Rubicon.

ARMY ACTIONS

Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!

Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks

Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/

Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's not a matter of if a disaster hits your community. It's when. And when it does, the first person on the scene isn't first responders or government officials. It's your neighbor.

Jeff Byard has spent 24 years in disaster response - from the Marine Corps to Alabama Emergency Management to FEMA. Then he left to go work with Team Rubicon - a volunteer lead disaster relief organization. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Bill to talk about what he learned from a career of showing up for people on their worst day - and what every one of us can do right now to be ready when our neighbors need us most.

You'll walk away knowing how to prepare your family before disaster strikes, why your next-door neighbor is the most important first responder in any emergency, and how ordinary people are doing some of the most important disaster relief work in the country through Team Rubicon.

ARMY ACTIONS

Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!

Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks

Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/

Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Shop Talk, Bill and Alex break down ACE scores - Adverse Childhood Experiences - and what the research says about how childhood trauma shows up decades later in our health, our relationships, and our choices. Bill shares his own score, and makes the case for why understanding this data might be the most important thing you can do before you walk into a tough neighborhood and wonder why people are the way they are.

ARMY ACTIONS

Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us!

Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org

Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks

Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/

Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.