Caller ID

When Success Isn’t Enough: My Call with Jerry Cowley

Jerry Cowley looked successful from the outside—moving up professionally, checking the boxes, and building a strong career. But as he shares in this conversation, outward success and inner fulfillment are not always the same thing.

In this episode, Jerry and I talk about career pivots, identity, ego, family, entrepreneurship, teaching, retirement, and what it means to build a life that is not defined only by work. From being recruited off a baseball field into the painting trade, to corporate life, education, coaching, and eventually building a successful business of his own, Jerry’s story is really about learning what matters most.

If you’ve ever felt the tension between doing well and actually feeling fulfilled, this conversation is for you.

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New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call. 

In this episode, I talk through how AI can be an asset, not a liability, when it comes to career. I have a few practical suggestions as to how to incorporate it to help us eliminate some of the thorns in our way. 

Can AI help us to flourish in some way? I talk about Nick Bostrom's pendulum swing from Armageddon to Utopia in his books SuperIntelligence and Deep Utopia. 

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Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call. 

Success doesn't always mean moving on to the next big thing—sometimes success means staying.

On this episode of Caller ID, Brandon Davis Wells is joined by Dusty Sloan, Director of Athletic Communications at Ashland University. Dusty reflects on his 30-year career in sports journalism, navigating the non-linear path from pro football writer to Domino's driver to AU leader, and how faith and community have guided his decision to remain rooted in his hometown.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call. 

In this episode of Caller ID, B. Davis Wells talks with his friend and former bandmate Mike Parker about identity, calling, and the career shifts that followed a difficult season. Mike traces his path from studying business to nearly 20 years in youth and pastoral ministry, describing how being labeled “pastor” changed relationships and intensified imposter feelings. He shares how pressure to appear calm left him carrying unprocessed emotions until repeated personal and professional brokenness led to anxiety, panic, and his body shutting down, and how learning to process grief and lament became essential. Mike explains his transition into real estate—drawn by business interest and relational “ministry of presence”—and the stress of commission work, his resistance to “salesy” tactics, a grounding personal mantra, and his focus on family, balance, rest, and helping his kids know they’re loved.

00:00 Emotional Weight in Ministry

01:46 Show Intro and Guest Setup

03:53 Meeting Through Music

05:01 Career Arc in 90 Seconds

06:24 Pastor Life and Imposter Syndrome

10:31 Rethinking Calling Beyond Ministry

14:04 Personal Mantra for Anxiety

19:01 Mindfulness and Grounding Rituals

20:31 Pressure to Appear Calm

24:24 Why Real Estate

25:18 House Flips and Crash

25:58 Why Real Estate Fit

26:52 Commission Rollercoaster

29:06 Building Consistent Business

30:24 Selling Without Sleaze

33:10 Ministry Skills in Realty

34:12 Marriage Through Uncertainty

35:24 Ted Lasso vs Larry David

40:28 Presence and Success

43:54 Fatherhood and Love

45:26 Advice to Younger Self

47:18 Closing Reflections

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Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call. 

On Caller ID, Brandon Davis Wells talks with JD, a longtime NCAA staffer and former ESPN spotter, about identity beyond work and the behind-the-scenes roles that keep college sports running. JD explains his current job as assistant director of playing rules and officials for men’s basketball and women’s lacrosse, including work with rules committees, officials, and game-flow emphases like traveling enforcement. He traces his path from sports information at Ole Miss and Purdue to the NCAA (since 2003), a 2020 COVID-era departure, and a return in a new role after time with Genius Sports and as courtside administrator for the Indiana Pacers. JD shares a passion for servant leadership—creating special opportunities for others—while admitting the burden of people-pleasing and his commitment to therapy. He highlights mentors, pride in speaking up about building a new Omaha stadium, and the joy of seeing teams raise trophies when athletes’ experiences aren’t disrupted.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call. 

Adam Amin, the Chicago Bulls’ TV voice and a versatile play-by-play broadcaster for Fox Sports, reflects on finding joy in broadcasting despite early family skepticism shaped by his Pakistani immigrant upbringing, including his mother telling relatives he was in medical school until his first national TV break at 24 changed their view. He recounts falling into the craft through encouragement from an older friend at Valparaiso, learning through volume and repetition, and gradually replacing imposter syndrome with confidence—especially by understanding when to “lay out” and let the moment breathe. Amin discusses handling praise and criticism as human psychology in the social media era, building his voice by borrowing from many broadcasters, and valuing teamwork as a central professional lesson. He explains leaving ESPN after nine years for Fox and the Bulls role, and shares how DJing—started at 13—returned as a creative outlet alongside ongoing nerves, travel stress, and advice to trust your path while acknowledging struggles with drinking and depression in his 20s.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call. 

Caller ID Season 2 Kickoff: Golden Threads from Season 1
(Work, Worth, Purpose & Community)

Host B.Davis Wells kicks off season two of Caller ID by reflecting on season one’s 25 calls with 21 guests from diverse backgrounds and noting that while their language and circumstances differed, consistent “golden threads” emerged about calling, identity, and meaning. Key takeaways include listening for recurring themes in your story, discerning in community and friendship, taking the next step without needing the whole plan, and seeing failure and disruption as information rather than identity. Wells emphasizes that work matters but cannot carry the weight of worth, and that purpose is present tense—not waiting at the end of a map. He previews season two’s deeper questions about ambition, trade-offs, relationships, rest versus fear, and identity amid success or loss, and mentions upcoming guests including Adam Amin, Robyn Fralick, Dusty Sloan, J.D. Hamilton, and Mike Parker.

00:00 Season One Recap

04:15 Golden Threads Method

08:13 Career Pivots Stories

12:57 Try It To Learn

16:53 Discipline And Formation

20:07 Opportunity And Responsibility

21:51 Calling In Community

23:42 Failure And Disruption

27:52 Work Is Not Worth

30:36 Purpose Is Now

35:02 Lessons From Guests

39:02 Season Two Preview

41:00 Closing And Thanks

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call. 

Purpose Is Now: Mentorship, Faith, and Choosing What Matters

This season 1 highlight episode reflects on responsibility, identity, and purpose through stories about career growth, faith, and relationships. The guests discuss what it means to carry yourself well as a leader, and the importance of paying it forward through mentoring, teaching, and giving back, including funding an endowed scholarship at Texas Tech. They emphasize learning through failure, swallowing pride in ego-driven work, and rejecting the belief that careers must be linear or fully planned from the start. Themes include knowing yourself, making intentional trade-offs (like prioritizing family over ambition), taking the next step rather than the “30th,” and viewing work as worship. They also highlight assuming positive intent, resisting “delayed happiness,” and finding joy and worth in the present moment rather than constant productivity.

00:00 Carrying the Responsibility

01:16 Faith and Calling Forward

01:57 Mentors and Early Growth

02:24 Failure and Swallowing Pride

03:05 Purpose Over Perfect Plans

04:01 Tradeoffs Family First

04:36 Restlessness and God’s Voice

06:02 Resilience After Mistakes

06:19 Nonlinear Paths and Success

07:42 Pay It Forward Mindset

08:56 Conversations and Knowing Yourself

10:07 Obedience One Step at a Time

10:44 Purpose Is Now

11:19 Work as Worship and Passion

12:14 Assume Positive Intent

12:39 Human Being Not Doing

13:23 Small Wins and Present Joy

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call. 

Calling in Seasons: Miles Larson on Leadership, Identity, and Holy Discontent | Caller ID

On Caller ID, host B. Davis Wells talks with Miles Larson, executive director of the Brethren Church, about calling as seasonal rather than permanent and how work matters without defining identity. Miles shares his curiosity-driven hobbies, early leadership lessons managing a catering hall at 14, and an unexpected career path from higher education and career services to pastoral ministry after experiencing “holy discontent.” He describes discernment through community, wise counsel, and practical signs like a seminary scholarship, and explains success as “fruitfulness” rather than metrics. They discuss moving toward new roles versus running away, guarding against titles becoming identity, the need for rest and sabbatical, challenges like cynicism and rigid processes, cultural shifts driving bivocational ministry, and his hoped-for legacy of rebuilding trust, clarifying key terms, and cultivating joy in the church.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call. 

Sarah Johnson joins the Caller ID Podcast to talk about her path from healthcare marketing to Case Western Reserve and now Chief Communications Officer for the City of Cleveland under Mayor Justin Bibb, overseeing everything from media and social to internal messaging for 8,000 employees—plus crisis communications during incidents like shootings and a cyberattack. She shares why she initially resisted government work before being pushed to meet the campaign and buy into the mayor’s vision, and why the role is both chaotic and deeply fulfilling because of resident impact. Sarah also opens up about imposter syndrome, the power of relationships over “networking,” and having a long-term mentor who validates and challenges her. As a Black woman in high-stakes rooms, she describes being scrutinized, navigating biased comments with grace, and showing up confidently in “male, pale, and stale” spaces.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call.