Nic talks with Brett Russell on what he did and does to build a strong culture. While Brett’s experience is in the fire service, he and Nic agree on how it applies to the trades. They discuss how to keep momentum, build a culture of high performers, and doing what you say you’re going to do.

Brett emphasizes how he wants his guys to feel they are a part of something bigger than themselves. He wants everyone to feel like they are making an impact. It’s about doing all the little things well, even the things they don’t like to do like truck checks.

Brett Russell is the Fire Chief for the City of Clinton, Oklahoma, where he has served since 2017. With a fire service career that began in 1998, Brett brings over 25 years of experience in emergency response and leadership. He is also the founder of Classic Marble Design, a kitchen and bath company he started with his wife and parents in 1997.

Brett’s passions are faith, family, and leadership—in that order. His relationship with Christ shapes every area of his life and leadership. A strong believer in servant leadership, Brett also serves as Chairman of the Board for Western Oklahoma Christian School, a PreK–6th grade elementary school dedicated to Christ-centered education.

Whether leading in the firehouse, the business world, or the community, Brett is committed to serving others with purpose, integrity, and humility.

Final thought: Brett believes reading is one of the biggest attributes of a leader—even though it wasn’t one of his favorite things to do at first.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at [email protected].

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to [email protected].

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Nic and Tarina are going to the lake in a little bit. And Tarina is working on some home remedies. And Nic is still working on his audio books.

If you want to pilot Nic’s new online Leadership Academy, reach out and let him know. 

When you’re right on the edge of having a meltdown and you feel drained and about to give up. In the construction industry it’s called burnout—and you almost give up. This is what Nic also calls emotional fatigue.

Everything is getting done, but sometimes we just need to be more present. Tarina admits to not giving herself downtown and then she crashes.

Some of the guys Nic works with start at 0300. And they jump straight into work mode from the moment their alarm goes off.

Is there joy in what you’re doing? Are you feeling if there’s any end in sight to all the work? Are you losing patience and being short with your team or your family?   

Emotional fatigue and decision fatigue should cause us to pause personally and professionally. Vince Lombardi once said, “Fatigue makes cowards us of all.” Health, finances, family—are types of silent pressures which contribute to our fatigue.

To learn ways to “fix what you won’t face” take a listen to this episode.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at [email protected].

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to [email protected].

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Nic congratulates himself for killing weeds (he’s a pretty big deal, you know) and how Tarina’s dog rolled in a dead armadillo (true story).

“Everybody loves change, don’t they?” Nic says with a bit of sarcasm.

Think of a time when you struggled with change and it turned out not to be that big of a deal.

Nic shares how he resisted moving to Corn. He believed it’d be the end of his career—and how horrible the change would be in his life. He admits how he created a false narrative.

Tarina talks about their friend, Burt, who says, “You kind of live life in seasons and decades.” It’s about knowing change will happen—how it's just around the corner. This can help you prepare for change.

The reality is we are programmed to stay the same. “Men are happiest when they are improving themselves physically, mentally, and financially. An idle man is a depressed man.” It all requires change.

All we are called to do is take the first step.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at [email protected].

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to [email protected].

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Nic and Tarina talk about her latest diagnosis: digital fatigue. Nic says it’s because of her eye strain from staring at her shopping cart on her phone. Of course, he tries to piece together how this developed. Because Tarina tries to shield him from seeing what she’s buying, it’s only in her right eye. Nic wants to buy her a pirate eye patch. Aarrgghh, Matey!

Cruze it out of school. Elle is home. And they have a busy summer planned—including Elle’s wedding.

Tarina points out that one of the biggest problems with listening is thinking about how we’re going to respond. This is not true listening. You cannot think and listen at the same time.

Nic says a lot of men want to solve problems, so keeping their mouth shut and just listen is really hard. Men want to prove themselves.

“It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid rather than open it and remove all doubt.”

Men, Nic says, don’t do a good job of checking their emotions in a conversation. Self-control leaves. Tarina corrects him and says it’s not a battle of the sexes—women do the same thing.

Breathing is not a sexy topic when talking about communication. Taking a deep breath through your nose is a key tool for emotional control. Tarina observes how Nic’s body language changes when he gets frustrated—his breathing gets shallow.

A good resource to learn how to listen better Nic and Tarina recommend is Jefferson Fisher. You can see his videos here.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at [email protected].

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to [email protected].

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Nic and Tarina share their experience attending to the German Feast at Corn Bible Academy and eating verenika—a steamed or fried pasta dumpling filled with a dry cottage cheese and usually covered in ham gravy.

Chapter 35 from Know This Do That is about doing the right thing. Building your character— regardless of the cost—is the struggle all good leaders face.

Nic identifies the three ways to build trust. The leader who stands in front of his/her crew and is honest and clear, paves the way to be highly trusted. 

Chapter 36: Give Something Back. Nic quotes Denzel Washington, “[Life] is about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better.” 

Nic asks Tarina: What’s the balance between living a full life and leaving an inheritance for our kids? Giving something back means making a difference in the lives of others, and not being in the crew just for yourself.

Listen to how Nic unpacks what it means to make a difference, to give something back. He outlines his model for engaging head, heart, and hands. When you begin to apply Nic’s model, you actually open a door for someone to receive what you have to give.

And you have something to give.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at [email protected].

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to [email protected].

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Nic and Tarina open the episode talking about their trip to Aruba. Nic comments on how he got a little sunburned—even after applying sunscreen every hour. And Tarina cringed at how their swimsuits were too matchy-matchy.

Be sure to listen to the surprise Tarina found for Nic: An inflatable butt-mat. “Seat cushion,” Tarina corrects him. 

The question behind “What drives you?” is “Why do you do what you do?” 

Tarina became a nurse because she wanted to help people. Nic is a speaker because he wants to make a difference. 

Nic quotes his son, Cruze, from one of his TikTok videos: “The fastest way to kill something is to compare it something else.”

We can easily fall into the trap of bigger is better or more is better. The first step is to look back before you look forward. Nic shares how he was always chasing money but then spoke to a high school graduating class. It’s where he felt the most alive and it fueled his drive.

If you’re looking for your why, remember that “purpose leaves clues in our past” and tied to our emotions. 

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at [email protected].

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to [email protected].

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Tarina asks Nic if he wears his compression socks when he flies. He replies, “I wear them with my shorts on one leg.” Scolding him, Tarina says, “You’re supposed to wear them on both legs.” So Nic answers, “I wore them on one leg of my flight.”

Tarina and Nic talk about what it means to become a leader. Nic starts the discussion with a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger: “You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pocket.”

Having a position, authority, or title does not make you a leader. A great leader is a good teacher and able to make hard decisions. 

“The expectations I have for you, you are not meeting,” is something a leader is willing to say to his people—especially one of his buddies. This is why it’s so important to set expectations up front.

A great leader fills in the gaps of communications. Nic asks Tarina, “Why is communications an issue?” As Nic explains, when folks don’t communicate well, we let the gaps in communication drive the narrative. And these gaps usually fill with the negative.

And you don’t have wait to be the boss to be a leader now.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at [email protected].

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to [email protected].

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Nic and Tarina talk about how the grass is growing now in Corn. And Nic comments how his hair is growing like a Chia Pet. “It looks great!” says Tarina.

The feeling that you’re less-than or that you’re not enough is often called imposter syndrome. Tarina asks about the line between feeling not-enough and arrogance.

Feeling not-enough and arrogance are both negatives.

What Nic is talking about is the internal voice of judgment which beats us up whenever something doesn’t work out perfect. Tarina shares the pressure she feels on a daily basis as a mom and wife and Nic shares how he doesn’t always feel qualified reach out to certain conferences.

The books that are never written, the songs never sung, the businesses never started—and what stops us is fear. “I say I don’t have a fear of failure, but I know I do,” Nic says. 

So, what’s the solution? Tarina mentions how friends and spouses help because they bring allow us to bring these things into the light. Community makes us stronger. Our community reminds us we are enough.

Here’s a link to the movie Nic and Tarina talked about. “It’s about moving forward and believe,” says Tarina. 

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at [email protected].

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to [email protected].

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Tarina and Nic spent time with Elle and Cruze over spring break. Nic comments on how expensive it is to feed his son, the carnivore. Not even the beans and rice at Chipotle. 

He then rants about how some people don’t know the rules of airline travel. Tarina’s water bottle—which does not leak—was placed in the overhead bin. You can guess what happened next. 

Together they discuss Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers and the 10,000-hour rule—and how you have to put in the time. The important example from the book are the Beatles and how they had performed 1200 live concerts before going big. 

“What we don’t see,” Nic says, “is the hours of time, the headache, the practice that it takes to be great at what you do.” 

He recalls his conversation with Manley Feinberg and the training work he did for Menards. As Manley said, putting in the reps made him a more successful speaker. 

Tarina talks about the book Grit Don’t Quit—and what to do in the waiting. “Get out. Work out. Clean out.” Paying your dues requires wisdom to reach mastery, but it’s not just about being skilled in a trade. Competence also means working on yourself. It means investing your time in you and your relationships.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at [email protected].

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to [email protected].

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

They kick off talking about Tarina’s pajamas and Nic’s shaved head. Elle has told Nic to grow out his hair for the wedding. 

In this episode they dig into Chapter 27: Invest the Time from Know This Do That. 

Nic and Tarina talk about how good things—like a career or rearing kids—takes time and patience. The opposite is also true: too much time spent on the wrong things create a problem if we let it. Where you invest your time and how you invest your time determines your ultimate success.

Stay the course. Stick it out. Building a career means building a reputation and a good reputation fuels more significant relationships. Doors will open. 

As some have said, “The overnight success story is 10 years in the making.” And it might take 20 years. This is not an easy path—a better life awaits those who put in the work, sweat, and tears. A better life is the result of heartache, wins, and losses. 

The nonnegotiable is to invest. And the one thing we all have is time. Keep on keeping on to make the return you desire. There’s magic in the struggle. 

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times.” (G. Michael Hoff)

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at [email protected].

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to [email protected].

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.