From Embers To Excellence™

Steve Williams started working EMS and Fire in April of 1996, working for an ambulance company and as a volunteer firefighter, ground ambulance, air ambulance flight crew. In the fire arena he was always drawn to wildland firefighting, structure fire and rescue was challenging but, never felt at home like during wildland fire season.

Steve went to the academy for the California Department of Corrections in 2000. He was assigned to the High Desert State Prison in Susanville, California. High Desert State Prison is a high security mission prison. Steve promoted to sergeant in 2005, and transferred to the infamous Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, California. He promoted again to lieutenant in 2011, and then demoted back to sergeant in 2013.

Steve tells me about many of his roles within corrections; he has served on joint task forces, worked with K9s, he has been an investigator, and a training sergeant. During his time with the department of corrections he has always remained active in the fire service as a volunteer and in paid positions.

During our discussion Steve and I talk about how we met, PTSD and the stigma surrounding it, and of course leadership. This is a fascinating conversation that allows the listener a glimpse into the world of corrections officers serving in maximum security prisons.

Drew Neisser is the founder of Renegade, the award-winning strategic boutique for business to business (B2B) innovators and CMO Huddles, the fastest-growing, most engaged community of B2B CMOs on the planet.

Considered among the top B2B influencers by Adobe/Marketo, Gartner, IBM and Pega Systems, Drew has been a featured marketing expert on ABC News, CNBC, CBS Radio and Tony Robbins’ podcast among many others. He is also a frequent keynote speaker and moderator at industry conferences.

Drew officially founded Renegade in 1996. He earned a BA in history from Duke University, currently sits on the boards of the Urban Green Council and the Duke Alumni Association. An avid Ben Franklin fan, Drew’s favorite aphorism remains, “Well done is better than well said.”

This episode is far more than a discussion about marketing. Drew and I discuss philosophies that lead individuals and organizations to success. There are nuggets of wisdom throughout, leading our conversation to an awesome ending. I am sure fans of this show will gain quite a bit from Drew’s experience and wisdom.

For additional information or to connect with Drew visit his website here: https://renegade.com/

Steven Anthony Michel, “SteveO” is the son of Haitian immigrants. He grew up in the inner city of Orlando, overcame adversity with the help of some incredible mentors and football. After graduating from Jones High School, SteveO went to Colorado State University where he earned a Bachelors degree in social work and played Division 1 football as an outside linebacker.

After college he decided to become a firefighter and serve in the same area he grew up in. SteveO and I discuss what it was like growing up in the area he did and what it is like working there as a firefighter now. He tells me some great stories of overcoming adversity and what it takes to stay poised and on track when your environment is less than ideal.

SteveO is an incredible example of perseverance and overcoming the odds. He regularly gives back to his community and has become somewhat of a social media influencer on Facebook and Instagram through positive and uplifting messages.

To learn more about SteveO Michel check out his social media accounts here:

https://www.facebook.com/steveo.michel

https://www.instagram.com/steveotattedup4/

Nate is a fitness and nutrition expert, coach, speaker, and writer who believes that being in incredible shape gives a massive advantage in business, focus, and relationships. He is the #1 bestselling author of “The Million Dollar Body Method” and “Passport Fitness.” Nate helps business owners and entrepreneurs improve their physique, finances, and family time using fitness and nutrition as force multipliers.

During our conversation Nate and I discuss why breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and how it can improve your performance across the board. He tells me how his book can help with building muscle; training for fat loss; targeting specific visceral fat and why you need to start there; why being insulin resistant is killing you slowly; "performance eating" and why is it critical for entrepreneurs; how you know if you need a detox from sugar; the secret weapon for fat loss; the best supplement for recovery, sleep, and performance; how working with your body's natural biorhythms accelerates your fat loss results; and how to create energy on demand.

To learn more about Nate, check out his links below:

Website:

https://n8trainingsystems.com

http://milliondollarbodymethod.com

Social Media Links:

Facebook Profile: https://facebook.com/n8palmer

Facebook Community: https://n8trainingsystems.com/group

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/n8training/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/n8training

Instagram: https://instagram.com/n8training

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/N8TrainingSystems

Lathan is an international bestselling author and host of the podcast The Other Side of the Church. On his podcast, he presents stories of church hurt and hope from familiar voices like author Bob Goff and recording artists Blanca and Matthew West.

Lathan is also the founder of Made for Purpose, a coaching and consulting firm dedicated to helping people push past corporate molds to uncover what they’re designed to do in this world. He has devoted his life to researching and articulating the importance of belonging.

Lathan and I have an amazing conversation about what it means to belong in the American Church, what most people don’t think about when they think about belonging, and of course we dive in to his background. He tells me about his book and how it came to be. This is a powerful episode and may be triggering for some. To learn more about Lathan, visit: https://kitcaster.com/lathan-craft/

Chancellor was born in Fulton County, Georgia and grew up in Smyrna, Georgia. He attended Stetson University. He played football at the high school and collegiate level for nine years. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media Studies, Chancellor lived abroad in China from 2018-2019. He began writing after his traumatic experience of being arrested and detained in Beijing for 14 days. His first book, "14 Days in Beijing" has ranked #1 over fifteen times on Amazon in multiple genres.

In our conversation Chancellor tells me a little about his life, football career, and the path that led him to writing his first book. Chancellor is a great guest and has a great story. If you are interested in learning more about him or his book follow this link: https://www.chancellorkjackson.com/

After teetering on the edge of burnout, she looked towards building her resilience. On her journey, Jodi became a 'Success Principles' certified trainer, health and life coach and neuro-linguistic programming practitioner. She has since paired those skills with her corporate knowledge and understanding of leadership. This paved the way for her to help others overcome their resilience challenges and cultural barriers in their workplaces.

Jodi and I talk about what “resilience” means and how to build resilience into culture. Jodi tells me how she helps people gain the ability to self-care and provide self-maintenance? We talk about some of the major behaviors or workplace norms that she has found to be problematic. Additionally, Jodi tells me what “Psychological Safety” is and why it is important.

For additional information or to order Jodi’s book please visit her website: https://www.jodiwoelkerling.com/

Dr. Denise Moore Revel is a CEO, founder, an award-nominated, best-selling author, speaker, and personal development coach. For over 25 years, she has literally helped people find their voices. As a speech-language pathologist (therapist), her job has been helping her clients discover their voice.

Dr. Denise founded The Own Your Amazing Movement as an extension of the message of finding your own voice and living your worth out loud. Through coaching, mentoring, and workshops, Dr. Denise empowers women to find their unique voice, live their worth out loud, and create amazing lives they love.

Dr. Denise tells me the story of how she found her own voice, she shares what the Own Your Amazing Movement is, and she tells me about her book. We have an amazing conversation that includes advice, philosophy, great stories, and some great laughs.

To learn more about Dr. Denise or to buy her book, visit her website:

www.ownyouramazingnow.com

Darrell brings extensive experience as a master certified life coach and a member of the Federal Coaching Network. He is an inspirational speaker and certified facilitator who provides clients with expertise in the realm of leadership, relationships, and purpose. His leadership background includes 30 years of federal service highlighted by his induction into the White House Communications Agency Hall of Fame. His leadership coaching is based on a stellar 20-year military career, where he traveled as an Operations and Vice-Presidential Communications Officer, leading over 500 White House missions. Following the tragedies of September 11, 2001, Darrell was selected as 1 of 5 key leaders, from 30 senior managers, to direct emergency action communications for the Vice President of the United States, to include duties as an Air Force Two Command Representative.

We discuss his time in the US Army, what it was like growing up in Compton, and a few of his professional experiences that helped shape him as a leader. Darrell brings so much to this conversation. Whether you are an established leader or aspiring to lead others in some capacity, this conversation has real world applications that are useful to everyone.

If you would like to learn more about Darrell, please visit the link he has provided: https://speakerhub.com/speaker/darrell-williams

Jeremy Sherman, PhD is a cradle-to-grave science researcher and writer studying the unbroken chain from the origins of life from chemistry to humankind's grave situation today. He's the author of the Columbia University Press book “Neither Ghost Nor Machine: The emergence and nature of selves.” He has written 1000+ articles with 9 million readers for Psychology Today. For 25 years, he has been a close research collaborator with Harvard/Berkeley neuroscientist Terrence Deacon. His latest book is called "What's up with Assholes? Advanced psychoproctology for beginners. Sherman is all about making advanced ideas intuitive, practical, and funny. This is a great follow up conversation to last week’s podcast. Among other things, Jeremy and I discuss in further detail how we can stop assholes without becoming assholes ourselves.

For more information visit: https://psychoproctology.libsyn.com/website