We’re bringing this episode back because this conversation feels more relevant than ever. So many entrepreneurs are still wrestling with the same tension: their business looks successful on paper, but something is missing in their soul. When profit becomes the only scoreboard, even a “winning” business can feel empty.

In this replay, first released in April 2025, we revisit how your business can become far more than a money-making machine. What if it could function as a calling, a mission field, and a platform for Kingdom impact? We challenge the false divide between “faith life” and “work life” and explore what it looks like to lead with a faith-forward mindset in every decision you make.

We discuss practical, real-world examples of integrating faith into leadership—such as choosing integrity over financial shortcuts, setting goals that honor God and drive results, and being willing to say no to opportunities that would compromise your witness. You’ll hear stories, including turning down tax advantages that didn’t align with our convictions, and how those “small” decisions shape the long-term character of a business.

We also unpack how to seek God’s direction in your business without getting stuck in fear of “missing His will.” Through prayer, scripture, and wise counsel, we describe a framework for moving at a “grace pace”—walking in freedom and responsibility inside the boundaries He’s already made clear.

Most importantly, we reframe business challenges as spiritual training grounds rather than unfair burdens. When you see obstacles as part of God’s refining work, you can endure hardship with more peace, purpose, and confidence that He’s doing something deeper than what you can see right now.

If you’re hungry for more than material success and want your leadership to reflect what you believe, this episode is a timely reminder that faith and business were never meant to be separated.

Key Takeaways:

• What a business rooted in faith actually looks like in practice.
• How to intentionally integrate faith into everyday business decisions.
• Why aligning business goals with God’s plan matters for more than just profit.
• How to lead with integrity, even when it costs you.
• How to use faith as your leadership compass in seasons of clarity and confusion.

Connect:

Connect with ISI Brothers: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/
Join the ISI Community: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/isi-community
Big A's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwalkerviewfromthetop/
Seth’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-buechley/

What if real strength isn’t what you lift but how you live? We sit down with legendary coach Mike Boyle to rethink training, leadership, and legacy through a simple lens: show up, serve people, and build habits you can sustain for decades. Mike shares why most men chase aesthetics and numbers that don’t translate to life, and how functional strength keeps you capable—hauling wood, climbing stairs, playing with grandkids, and getting off the floor with ease. He breaks down the essentials for men over 40: avoid joint pain, use unilateral work to protect balance, push sleds and carry loads, and measure progress by how you feel getting out of bed.

Beyond the gym, Mike opens up about mistakes, counseling, and the cost of being absent at home. His leadership playbook is plain and powerful: hire people who like people, build a client-first culture, and remember that a good coach with a simple plan beats a great plan with a mediocre coach. We talk presence over ego, how to create teams that greet and care, and why some high-profile relationships are transactional—and why that’s okay when your real life is built locally with people who matter.

You’ll also hear the daily practices that keep Mike sharp: early mornings, a one-sentence gratitude journal, short naps for recovery, consistent reading, and 20 minutes of intentional thoughtfulness to check in with others with no ask attached. Walk away with one challenge: choose a single functional rep for the part of your life that’s slipped—body, marriage, or mission—and repeat it daily. 

If you’re ready to trade mirror muscles for a life that works, press play, subscribe, and share this with someone who needs a nudge. Then tell us: where will you show up first this week?

• Connect with ISI Brothers: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/
• Join the ISI Community: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/isi-community
• Big A's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwalkerviewfromthetop/
• Coach Mike's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/mbscvideo

This conversation first aired in 2022 and quickly became a listener favorite. We’re bringing it back because the honesty, hope, and hard-won wisdom in Patrick’s story continue to help new listeners every week.

In this encore episode, Patrick Lewis—President & CEO of Superior Rigging & Erecting Co.—shares an unfiltered journey of grit and grace: from a childhood spent working, to a spiral into infidelity and cocaine addiction, to rebuilding his life, relationships, and company. Patrick talks candidly about therapy, gratitude, forgiveness, and leadership—how guardrails at home and core values at work shape the people we’re becoming.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of addiction and suicidal thoughts.

What you’ll hear

• Growing up fast: the discipline learned from early work—and the backlash when freedom finally came
• Choices, consequences, and the long road back from addiction
• Practical tools: therapy, gratitude, and forgiving his father
• Parenting with love + guardrails
• Scaling a business without letting money become the measure
• Hiring for values and building a healthy culture

About Patrick Lewis

Patrick Lewis is the President & CEO of Superior Rigging & Erecting Co., a hoisting, rigging, and steel-erection company based in Atlanta, GA, and Orlando, FL. He started working for Superior at the age of ten and has watched it grow from a family business into an industry leader with over 370 employees. Before becoming Owner/President in 2001, Patrick served in multiple roles across the company. He attended Mercer University and earned his Millwright JATC in 1996. Outside of work, Patrick has coached Georgia Impact Fastpitch Softball, leading the 18U team to the 2018 PGF National Championship.

If this episode resonates with you: share it with a friend who needs hope, and consider leaving a review so more listeners can find stories like Patrick’s.

• Connect with ISI Brothers: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/
• Join the ISI Community: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/isi-community
• Big A's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwalkerviewfromthetop/
• Patrick's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-lewis-superior-rigging/

Ever build a business to buy your freedom, only to feel like it’s stealing it? We sat down with Mike Michalowicz—author of Profit First, Clockwork, The Pumpkin Plan, and The Money Habit—to break the cycle of entrepreneurial poverty and design companies that give time, profit, and purpose back to their owners. Mike shares the core behavioral shift that changed over a million businesses worldwide: move profit to the front. By allocating a percentage of every deposit to profit and protecting it, you force clarity on pricing, margins, and waste while creating a calm, focused operator that your clients actually prefer.

We also dig into the growth myth that complexity drives revenue. Mike shows how reducing variability—fewer offers, cleaner processes, standardized delivery—scales faster than adding yet another service. Real stories from the field reveal how “simplicity scales, complexity fails” turns into faster estimates, smoother operations, and a brand people remember. Then we step into personal finance with The Money Habit, Mike’s new system that adapts the Profit First mindset to salary-based households. You’ll learn how to use seasonality to attack debt, fund big goals, and activate purposeful spending, plus one powerful tactic: funnel every subscription onto a single card to expose and tame the hidden drip.

The through line is purpose. External success doesn’t equal internal success, and Mike’s reminder from Howard Thurman lands hard: don’t ask what the world needs; ask what makes you come alive. Start small and act now—set up that profit account, cancel a subscription, delegate one task, or name the work that lights you up. If this conversation helps you design smarter and live freer, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs margin, and leave a quick review so more owners can find it.

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• Big A's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwalkerviewfromthetop/
• Mike Michalowicz's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemichalowicz/

Ever felt the ache of moving fast but going nowhere? We sat down with executive leader and author Chris Robinson to name the real culprit: complacency that creeps in after success and masquerades as progress. Chris calls it “careless security,” and once you see it, you can’t unsee it—in your calendar, your team, even your closest relationships.

Chris opens up about a humbling moment on an international stage with John Maxwell that exposed his own drift. The lesson wasn’t about talent; it was about preparation, depth, and the discipline to invite feedback and act on it. From there, we unpack his seven-step loop—clarity, gathering, filtering, guidance, relationships, action, evaluation—and why filtering is the modern choke point. With endless inputs, scattered learning feels productive while it quietly stalls your growth. Depth wins when you align your reading, listening, coaching, and daily tasks to one clear aim.

We also dig into practical signals that you’re drifting: busyness without challenge, saying later more than now, consuming more than you create, and losing energy for the work that once lit you up. Chris gives a simple way back: take an honest hour and write, What do I want? Use five daily alignment questions to turn goals into action and to-do lists into outcomes. Then build community and accountability that won’t let you coast—because what a leader allows in moderation, a team will amplify.

If you’re ready to move from success to significance, this conversation will help you trade motion for momentum and comfort for calling. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway so we can keep sharpening together.

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• Big A's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwalkerviewfromthetop/
• Chris Robinson's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/speakerchrisrobinson/

What if the loudest obstacles to hearing God are inside your own head? We sit down with Robby Gallaty—pastor, author, and former addict—who shares a raw story of burnout, confession, and revival that began not with a plan, but on a porch.

Robby is the pastor of Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville, TN, where a simple act of obedience sparked a powerful movement of spontaneous baptisms. He recently joined our monthly ISI Roundtable as the guest speaker, and we’re deeply grateful for the time, teaching, and wisdom he shared with our brotherhood.

Robby unpacks emunah—the Hebrew idea of faith as steadiness and allegiance—and shows how silence, Scripture, and obedience can turn down the noise and turn up discernment. You’ll hear practical ways to recognize God’s voice, clear the clutter of pride and jealousy, and act courageously when He speaks.

If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review telling us one step you’ll take this week.

• Connect with ISI Brothers: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/
• Join the ISI Community: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/isi-community
• Big A's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwalkerviewfromthetop/
• Explore more from Pastor Robby Gallaty and watch his sermons at: https://longhollow.com/

A bump behind the right nostril turned a college junior’s easy street into a fight for life—and identity. Terry Healey doesn’t just recount a rare sarcoma and radical facial surgery; he walks us through the inner reconstruction that followed, where faith, gratitude, and a bracing dose of truth forged a resilience deeper than scars. We explore the moments that mattered: a surgeon who gave hope on both sides of the ordeal, a family that showed up every day, and a girlfriend who named the real wound—insecurity—so healing could finally aim at the right target.

From there, we build out Terry’s REBAR framework—Reflect, Build, Act, Renew—the same playbook he now teaches leaders, teams, and anyone navigating hardship. Reflect is the five-to-ten-minute practice that turns days into data: gratitude lists, lessons learned, inspiration you’ll apply tomorrow. Build is mindset and support systems, from growth-oriented habits to communities that tell the hard truth. Act is execution with specificity and flexibility, translating clarity into commitments and small wins that compound. Renew is where we celebrate progress, name the traits forged in adversity, and lock in principles so the next storm finds us stronger.

We also get practical. Terry shares the gratitude exercises that stabilized him, why positivity is a choice and not denial, and how to take control when you can’t control the diagnosis. His new book, The Resilience Mindset, packages REBAR into a workbook you can use immediately, whether you’re facing health challenges, business setbacks, or a season of doubt. The throughline is simple and demanding: resilience is built, not given. When we reflect with honesty, build with intention, act with courage, and renew with purpose, adversity becomes a teacher—not a tyrant.

If this conversation sparked something in you, subscribe, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review. Your support helps more people find the tools to turn pain into purpose.

• Connect with ISI Brothers: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/
• Join the ISI Community: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/isi-community
• Big A's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwalkerviewfromthetop/
• Terry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terryhealey/

You can feel the difference when someone knows your life well enough to catch your tone on the first hello. That’s the power running through this conversation with Bret Barnhart—twelve years of weekly mentorship that turned business growth into something deeper: a resilient marriage, a healthier relationship with his dad, and a family vision his kids help shape.

We dig into why long-term coaching beats quick fixes, how context compounds advice, and what happens when a leader drifts into “good enough.” Bret breaks down the danger of maintenance mode and how accountability pulls him back into his creator–developer strengths without sacrificing family. We get practical too: quarterly spouse surveys, “What Do I Want” check-ins, and a family map where everyone pins bucket-list trips. These small, steady habits keep alignment alive and make decisions easier when life gets loud.

The most moving arc tracks Bret’s father story—how pride and distance gave way to repair through persistent, uncomfortable questions. That healing didn’t just mend a relationship; it lowered stress, sharpened leadership, and removed a quiet cap on growth. We also look forward: testing a month-long sabbatical to prove the team can run, designing the next decade with health in mind, and preparing for the complex choices of raising teenagers into adults. The thread tying it all together is simple and demanding: growth loves accountability, and isolation kills excellence.

If you’re ready to trade hacks for honest change, join us. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review with one area where you want accountability.

*Listen to Part 1 here.

Connect:

• Connect with ISI Brothers: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/
• Join the ISI Community: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/isi-community
• Big A's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwalkerviewfromthetop/
• Bret's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-barnhart

What happens when a successful business owner realizes that achieving his financial goals left him feeling completely empty? Bret Barnhart had built Barnhart Excavating from $1,500 to a thriving company, but found himself miserable, angry, and struggling with high blood pressure in his twenties. His wake-up call came when reaching a long-desired financial milestone brought no satisfaction—only regret for all he had sacrificed along the way.

This raw, honest conversation reveals the remarkable 12-year mentorship journey between Bret and Aaron Walker. Their weekly Tuesday meetings have transformed not just Bret's business approach, but his entire life. Bret candidly shares how he evolved from boasting about "ripping people's heads off" to leading with grace, from trying to control every aspect of his business to effectively delegating key functions.

The most powerful revelations come when Bret discusses the ripple effects of mentorship on his family relationships. His wife, Crystal, has commented that she doesn't know what their life would look like without this consistent guidance. Bret now evaluates business opportunities not just by their profit potential, but by their "cost" to his family time and relationships—a perspective that's transformed his priorities.

Through stories like the "$1,157 per night camper" that Bret immediately sold after a reality check, we see how accountability creates clarity. Bret explains mentorship as "walking down a dark hallway with someone who's been down it before"—a perfect metaphor for navigating business and life challenges with guidance rather than alone.

Ready to find the brotherhood that will sharpen you? This episode presents a compelling case for why consistent mentorship is more important than quick fixes. 

Join the ISI community free for 30 days at isibrotherhood.com/community and discover what having the right people walking beside you can do for your business, family, and spiritual life.

Connect:

• Connect with ISI Brothers: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/
• Join the ISI Community: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/isi-community
• Big A's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwalkerviewfromthetop/
• Bret's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-barnhart

Derek Champagne's extraordinary journey from a teepee-dwelling childhood to serial entrepreneurship offers profound insights into the elusive balance between achievement and fulfillment. In this deeply personal conversation, Derek reveals how his unconventional upbringing shaped his entrepreneurial spirit and work ethic. Raised by former hippies who found Christianity and opened their home to dozens of foster children, Derek learned early lessons about generosity and purpose that would guide his later life.

Music became Derek's first passion and business venture, managing bands by age 11 and eventually finding success in the competitive Hollywood scene. As the digital revolution disrupted the music industry, Derek pivoted through multiple businesses—from window washing to cookie distribution to marketing—demonstrating remarkable adaptability. Yet despite his professional achievements, he found himself in a corporate cubicle, struggling with depression and a profound sense of isolation.

The turning point came when Derek founded The Artist Evolution marketing agency and later discovered Iron Sharpens Iron, a brotherhood that helped him address the misalignment between his success and deeper purpose. With raw honesty, Derek shares his fear that spiritual growth might diminish his entrepreneurial drive—only to discover that authentic community and purpose actually enhanced his business acumen while bringing the peace he desperately sought.

For listeners questioning their own definitions of success, Derek offers a compelling alternative vision: building businesses with intention, creating systems that prioritize family, and finding fulfillment through significance rather than achievement alone. His partnership with Aaron Walker in Iron Sharpens Iron now allows him to guide other men through similar journeys of integration and wholeness.

Whether you're just starting your entrepreneurial path or reassessing priorities mid-career, His journey demonstrates that success and significance can coexist when approached with intention, faith, and community support. 

Ready to stop doing life and business alone? Join the brotherhood that will challenge, encourage, and sharpen you at isibrotherhood.com/community.

Connect:

• Connect with ISI Brothers: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/
• Join the ISI Community: https://www.isibrotherhood.com/isi-community
• Big A's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwalkerviewfromthetop/
• Derek's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theartistevolution/