A 0.1 percent chance can sound impossible until you hear Cheyanne’s story. In this episode, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Cheyanne Mitchell and her aunt Maria to talk about a journey marked by resilience, faith, and the relentless hope for a second chance. Cheyanne shares what life has looked like since being diagnosed with a rare genetic condition, including a kidney transplant, the heartbreak of rejection, and the reality of now undergoing dialysis three times a week. Through it all, her determination remains unshaken and her belief that the right living donor is out there continues to fuel her fight.

We also break down the medical side of Cheyanne’s story in clear, understandable terms. Because of extremely high antibody levels, finding a direct donor match is rare. However, paired kidney exchange programs create new possibilities. Your kidney could help another recipient while their donor provides the kidney that matches Cheyanne. We talk about how the donor process works, the extensive screening that protects donor health, how insurance coverage is handled, and the privacy options available for those who choose to remain anonymous. The conversation also addresses common myths about living donation and explains why blood type alone does not determine compatibility.

Cheyanne’s story is part of a much larger reality. More than 90,000 people in the United States are currently waiting for a kidney transplant. That number includes people like Ben’s cousin Jordy, who is balancing dialysis while raising her one year old son. This episode becomes a reminder that hope often begins with a single act of courage. Cheyanne dreams of returning to a normal rhythm of life, stepping away from dialysis, building a career she loves, and eventually returning to school to become a veterinary technician. Faith, family, and community continue to carry her forward.

If this story moves you, consider taking the first step to see if you could help.

Start the living donor screening process here
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Choose Named Recipient and enter Cheyanne Mitchell.

Even if you are not a direct match, programs like paired kidney exchange may allow your donation to help another recipient while their donor provides the kidney Cheyanne needs.

Find out if you may be a match
https://www.osuwexmedlivingdonor.org/


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What if the most important thing you steward isn’t wealth, but identity? Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with financial planner and community builder Brett Guiley to unpack a journey rooted in small town values, deep curiosity, and the courage to step away from comfort to chase purpose. Brett reflects on how watching his dad make a bold career change and his mom return to school shaped his understanding of sacrifice, and how early days of cold calling taught him humility, persistence, and respect for every no. Over time, conversations with local business owners became the education that truly formed his approach to service and leadership.

From his time at Merrill and Raymond James to launching Vista Investment Partners, Brett shares why independence mattered and how betting on people others overlooked became a defining theme. In conversation with Dan and Ben, he opens up about confronting labels he carried for years like fear, guilt, and impostor syndrome, and how faith helped him embrace a new identity as a connector. That shift reshaped the way he leads, mentors, and serves clients. We also talk about the launch of Orange Horizon Wealth and his vision for helping clients understand emerging assets like Bitcoin with clarity and responsibility.

At the heart of it all is family. Regular Sunday dinners and yearly trips to Lake Michigan remind Brett that legacy is built in the moments that repeat, not the ones that impress. His reflections on his grandfather in law offer a powerful picture of wisdom, intentional listening, and the kind of presence that leaves a lasting mark.

You’ll walk away with practical insight on building relationships with humility, growing a business through service, listening for your calling, and taking risks that align with faith. If you are navigating a career pivot, leadership pressure, or the tension between ambition and purpose, this conversation will meet you where you are.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a quick review to help more people discover stories that build resilience and real wealth.

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What starts as a foggy morning hike with his daughter turns into a life saving chain of events Dennis never could have planned. At 69, the firefighter, EMT, chaplain, and tool and die craftsman found himself facing multiple iliac aneurysms on the brink of rupture. What followed was a series of moments that felt anything but random: a hurricane delay that shifted their trip, swelling that refused to be ignored, a chiropractor who kept asking deeper questions, a rare Saturday scheduling call, and a surgical team suddenly available after a last minute cancellation. Hours later, Dennis woke up with rebuilt arteries, grafts, and stents and a story that reframes coincidence as something far more meaningful.

Hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr walk with Dennis through the full arc of his journey. From childhood loss and the early roots of faith, to decades of steady service helping others navigate their worst moments, Dennis shares what first responders carry long after the sirens stop. He opens up about the mental discipline required in chaos, the quiet rituals of grief and prayer, and the peace that grounded him when he heard the words, “go to the ER now.”

This conversation reaches beyond survival. It explores how purpose evolves, why community matters when seconds count, and how the interruptions we resist can become the very lifelines we need. Dennis offers practical wisdom on advocating for your health, listening to your body, and seeking answers when something does not feel right. More than anything, he speaks to a deeper calling that did not begin after surgery, but was clarified by it: serve more, love more, and show up where people are hurting.

If you have ever questioned whether a detour in your life might actually be direction, this episode will stay with you. Listen now and share it with someone who needs hope today. If the conversation resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and join the discussion. Was it coincidence, or was it providence?

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What happens when the crash you never wanted becomes the wake up call you needed?

On this week’s episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Zac Shisler for one of the most raw and redemptive conversations we have had yet.

Zac shares the moment everything came to a head. High behind the wheel after a speedball. Blacking out at a stop sign. Waking up to sirens, charges, and consequences he could not outrun. But the real story started years before that. A childhood marked by chaos. Alcoholism in the home. A father who left. Early drinks at a bar. A first joint at eleven that felt like relief instead of rebellion.

What began as escape slowly became survival.

Zac takes us deep into the neuroscience of addiction, explaining how the brain rewires and how the limbic system can scream for a fix like it is oxygen. He does not offer excuses. He offers clarity. We unpack the hard truth that treatment can stabilize you, but only transformation can sustain you.

Outpatient programs checked boxes. Inpatient detox cleaned him up. But real change began when grace met grit. A church that hugged him when he still smelled like alcohol. Worship music that reached his heart before theology did. Mentors who spoke truth without shame.

After losing his grandfather, Zac relapsed. Not long after, his brother lost the same fight. In a Florida rehab facility, a letter from a friend he once encouraged brought him to his knees. Surrender was not a single emotional moment. It became a daily practice. Sponsor. Meetings. Prayer. Boundaries. Cutting ties with people, places, and patterns that kept dragging him back.

Now six years sober, Zac lives what we call the slow miracle of consistency. He rebuilt trust with his wife and five daughters by showing up emotionally, not just physically. He confronted hidden habits that dulled conviction and blocked intimacy. He found purpose in co-founding Recovery Chance Maintenance, a remodeling company that hires men from sober living and gives them more than work. It gives them a second shot.

This episode is about addiction, responsibility, faith, relapse, restoration, and what it really means to temper your life through surrender.

If you are fighting relapse, loving someone who is, or wondering if your story can still be redeemed, this conversation is for you.

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Pain does not ask permission before it reshapes a life. On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Lisa Chandler to talk about what it looks like to stop running and start rebuilding when survival has been the default for decades.

Lisa’s story moves through constant childhood instability, overwhelming debt, and a traumatic brain injury from a car accident in 1984. Searching for security, she joined the Navy, only to face pregnancy, abandonment, and the reality of starting over as a single mother with almost nothing. Faith entered quietly when a church bus began picking up her daughter, but it came tangled with legalism, shame, and the belief that love had to be earned. Everything shifted when Lisa encountered a simple truth that dismantled years of striving. She was already saved. Forgiveness became necessary, not optional, and identity began to form around truth instead of past mistakes.

The conversation also explores calling in everyday obedience. After restarting cosmetology from the ground up, Lisa built Off The Top Salon in Eaton, reviving a name she dreamed up years earlier and turning it into a mission. By bringing haircuts to shelters and recovery centers and training a team rooted in empathy and excellence, her work became a living expression of faith. This episode challenges common church narratives and asks what real love looks like when it shows up practically, consistently, and without conditions.

If you have wrestled with shame, struggled with forgiveness, or wondered if your past disqualifies your future, this conversation offers clarity and hope rooted in lived experience.

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What if the thing you are most ashamed of becomes the bridge that helps someone else survive? That question frames this conversation as hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Mandy Turner, a teacher, coach, photographer, and woman of deep faith whose life has been shaped by resilience, integrity, and hard decisions.

Mandy’s story begins on an Ohio farm where her parents modeled discipline, budgeting, and a church-rooted sense of community. A college drop-off for her sister sparked comparison that quietly grew into anorexia and bulimia. What changed everything was not correction or control, but her mother meeting her with love, trust, and dignity. Those words became a turning point that still echoes through Mandy’s life today.

That same heart for seeing people carried her into cosmetology, where she learned that helping someone feel confident can matter as much as technical skill. But years of chemical exposure took a hidden toll. Steroids masked the damage until her adrenal glands failed, forcing her to walk away from a salon family she loved and rebuild from the ground up.

Reinvention led Mandy into the medical field, where a single request for her “clean” urine exposed serious ethical issues. Faced with a defining crossroads, she chose integrity and reported a physician’s misconduct, living with both the weight and peace that comes from doing the right thing. Coaching cheer revealed a deeper calling, and a last-minute flight to an interview placed her exactly where she belonged. Today, she teaches cosmetology with high standards, real-world professionalism, and a classroom culture built on trust, accountability, and safety. She also worked at Greene County Career Center, shaping students far beyond technical skills.

Mandy shares how a severe corn allergy and visible scars became unexpected tools for connection, helping her reach students who struggle in silence. During long lockdown drives, photography emerged as a creative outlet and became Skip to My Lou Photography, a joyful return to her roots and a way to honor the people she lifts up.

This episode is a story of faith under pressure, resilience after loss, and choosing integrity when the cost is real. If you have wrestled with self-doubt, burnout, disordered identity, or holding a moral line, this conversation offers clarity and hope.

Listen, learn, and share this episode with someone who needs courage today.
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What starts with a fifth a night and a recliner slowly becomes absence. Jerry Wilson was still providing, still present in the house, but slipping further away behind the glass. His story does not begin with a polished plan to change. It begins with a daughter asking hard questions about death, a desperate prayer whispered in a Kroger parking lot at midnight, and a baptism that changed everything in a single breath.

In this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Jerry to walk through the full arc of his story. Childhood mentors and the missing pieces they left behind. Moving to Ohio. Marriage, homebrewing culture, and a career that kept rewarding him even as his presence at home faded. Jerry shares how small nudges began stacking up until they forced a decision he could no longer avoid.

The turning point came at 3 a.m. when a stranger named Thomas prayed over him and spoke identity instead of shame. That moment cracked something open and made faith feel possible instead of performative. Jerry describes waking up sober after baptism with no craving, grieving the loss of old circles, and choosing practical obedience to stay steady. Taking a pay cut to be home. Saying yes to discipleship. Serving every week. Writing prayers down to track daily provision and answered prayers.

Jerry also opens up about what his family faced next. Night terrors. Spiritual warfare. Fear inside their own home. He shares how prayer brought peace back into their space and how church shifted from behavior modification to true belonging.

With Dan and Ben guiding the conversation, this episode digs into rebuilding trust after addiction, letting faith fuel discipline, and how community becomes a lifeline when willpower runs out. They talk identity, mentorship, resilience, and the quiet power of showing up early to serve people you love.

If you are wondering what the next right step looks like, this conversation is for you.

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What if one sentence could change the entire direction of your life?

When Chief Kurt Holden’s foster dad introduced him as “my son,” something finally settled. After years of instability and separation, that moment of belonging became the foundation that carried Kurt from a fractured childhood to leading public safety at Wright State University and earning selection to the FBI National Academy.

In this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr walk with Kurt through the chapters most people avoid. Being split from his brothers in foster care. Learning to scan rooms for danger instead of approval. Losing stability during his senior year and facing homelessness. Kurt shares with honesty and grit how college became shelter before it became education, and how stability turned survival into excellence.

Law enforcement was never just a career path. It was shaped by childhood moments when uniformed strangers were the only ones who showed up when everything else fell apart. That calling deepened through marriage and faith. His wife saw leadership before the title and helped him move from inherited belief to a lived, grounded relationship with God.

Kurt is unflinching as he talks about reconnecting with his parents. Addiction’s emptiness. A father’s humor returning just in time for goodbye. The intentional decision to fund both funerals as an act of love, release, and closure. The conversation also sits with the difficult truths of foster care. Lunch tickets that single kids out. Gifts that come with receipts. The long, uncomfortable work of forgiveness.

From there, the focus shifts to leadership, wellness, and what lies ahead at Quantico. Psychology. Resilience. Practical tools that matter. A commitment to bring real support back to the officers he serves. Through it all, fatherhood reframes the story. The prayers Kurt once believed went unanswered became an invitation to become the dad he needed and to build the home he always longed for.

If you have ever felt defined by one chapter instead of the full arc of your life, this conversation offers perspective, truth, and grounded hope.

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Some stories do not get easier with time. They shape who you become.

On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Superintendent and educator Mike Derringer. What begins as a conversation about leadership in education quickly turns into something much deeper. Mike shares a life marked by early momentum and purpose-driven work that was later shaped by unimaginable loss. He and his wife buried two daughters, years apart, and still found a way to lead, love, and serve with integrity while carrying grief that never fully leaves.

Mike walks us through his journey from agricultural education and FFA leadership into county-level service, where his Educational Service Center exists to reach students who often fall through the cracks. MD units. Nonverbal autistic classrooms. Behavior coaching. Alternative placements. Speech therapy. Mental health supports. He also names a quiet crisis many do not talk about. When kids cannot access pediatric care, they cannot attend school consistently. When they cannot attend, they cannot learn. His vision is clear. Invest locally. Build partnerships. Treat education, health, and community as one system with kids at the center.

The heart of this episode comes when Mike speaks as a father, not an administrator. He describes grief not as something you conquer, but as something you carry. A sharp rock that never disappears, but one you learn to walk with. He refuses to hide it. Instead, he honors all four of his daughters by choosing to live fully in the middle. The space between birth and death. The daily choice to stay present.

He talks openly about marriage as an action, faith when anger would be easier, and the strength found in what he calls a strand of three. That same belief shapes his leadership. Titles are tools, not identities. Kindness is a decision. And service still matters, even when your own heart is healing.

This episode is for anyone walking through loss, leadership, or quiet perseverance. It is a reminder that resilience is not born in comfort. It is forged.

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What happens when the plan you built your life around stops working, and you choose not to walk away?

This week on BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Jeff Schmidt, Dan’s brother, for a real conversation about discipline, identity, and staying grounded when life forces a pivot. Jeff’s story begins on the farm and carries through football, education, and leadership, shaped by hard work, humility, and learning to serve when recognition disappears.

Jeff talks about chasing a college football dream at Dayton, embracing his role on scout team, and the moment a simple question from his dad gave him permission to step away from the family farm and chart a new path. He opens up about leaving college the first time, returning years later with clarity, and finishing strong with a 3.8 GPA.

The conversation moves into leadership and education, where Jeff shares what it was like stepping into administration, facing doubt, and learning to lead by focusing on the one student who needed him most. That same discipline carried into his personal reset through 75 Hard, dropping weight, building structure, and committing to challenges like the RAIN Ride and the Air Force Half Marathon.

Faith runs through the entire episode, especially through the “coffee bean” principle Jeff lives by. Do not let the environment change you. Change the environment. From family routines to daily habits, this episode is about staying grounded, choosing discipline, and becoming who you are called to be.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between who you were and who you’re becoming, this conversation will hit home.

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