The Cluttered Path

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Eric Robinson was a pastor who planted a church in his twenties, built it to 200 people, and gave himself daily stress headaches for years because he didn’t think a pastor was allowed to need help. So he left the pastorate and joined the FBI at 32, having never fired a gun, to lower his stress.

It worked!!

This is a Brotherhood & Faith episode, and Eric has lived both sides of it. He found brotherhood twice: in a church where men prayed together and on a SWAT team where they kicked in doors together. He’s blunt about which one felt more real. One wears a mask. The other one puts its body between you and a threat and never mentions it.

We get into:

• Why he was the least-qualified guy in his FBI academy class at 32 — and why 12 years of ministry gave him a leg up on the cops and soldiers anyway
• How you get a sex offender or a terrified 16-year-old to open up (it’s the same skill a pastor uses, and it’s not what you’d think)
• A SWAT operation two years ago that ended in a fatal shooting — 90 seconds that felt like five minutes, his heart rate at 178, and the teammate who wasn’t even there but still felt he’d let everyone down
• Why men who don’t sit down and talk after hard things end up drinking, kicking the dog, or starting an actual riot — Todd’s got a Camp Lejeune story for that one
• The reexamination of faith that came from working domestic terrorism, and the moment his beliefs collided with his family — what he calls his "first blasphemy"

Straight advice for a guy with no squad, no church, no mentor, and a Tuesday night to fill

If you’re a man who suspects you’re missing something you can’t name (the squad, the congregation, the table of older guys who’ve been there) this is the episode.
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🎯 About Eric Robinson
Eric Robinson is a retired FBI special agent with 24 years of service — white-collar crime, counterterrorism, crimes against children, gangs, drugs, and public corruption. He spent 15 years as a SWAT operator and served as a firearms and tactics instructor. Two of his cases won the Attorney General’s Award. Before the FBI, he spent 12 years in Christian ministry, including planting and pastoring a Baptist church in Western New York. His memoir, Irreverend, releases later this year.

🌍 Learn more: preachertobreacher.com

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Resources from This Episode:
Irreverend by Eric Robinson (releasing later this year)  

As an Amazon Partner, our podcast earns from qualified purchases at no extra cost to you. 
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⭐ Want to be a guest on The Cluttered Path? Send Todd Carswell a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/toddcarswell

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📫  Where to Find Us:

Web: https://clutteredpath.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath
Questions/Comments:  [email protected] 
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Retirement isn’t the reward most men think it is. It’s an identity crisis waiting to happen.

In this episode, we sit down with Michael Kay, who has made it his mission to help men transition out of “work life” without losing themselves in the process.

Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most men don’t struggle with retirement because of money… They struggle because they don’t know who they are without being needed.

We get into:

• Why successful men have the hardest time letting go
• The hidden psychological cost of staying in the game too long
• What actually happens after the career ends (that no one talks about)
• How to prepare mentally and emotionally for life after work
• Practical ways to build purpose before you retire, not after

If you’re within 5–10 years of retirement, or even thinking about it, this conversation might save you from making the same mistake most men do: waiting too long to figure out who you are outside of your job.

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Resources from This Episode: 

How to Craft Your Chapter X, by Michael Kay: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/8Kpkz_ 

The Feel Rich Project, by Michael Kay: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/Us8PcI 

As an Amazon Partner, our podcast earns from qualified purchases at no extra cost to you. 

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🎯 About Michael Kay

Michael Kay was a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who built a Fee-Only Registered Investment Advisory Firm. He eventually transitioned into Financial LIFE planning which changed his life, business, and relationship with clients. Today he helps men transition from their professions into meaningful retirement adventures.   

🌍 Learn more: https://michaelfkay.com/

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⭐ Want to be a guest on The Cluttered Path? Send Todd Carswell a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/toddcarswell 

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📫  Where to Find Us:

Web: https://clutteredpath.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath
Questions/Comments:  [email protected] 
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Smart, accomplished adults freeze when the rules of the game change. Dr. John Austin spent 20 years figuring out why, and he built a framework for navigating the unknown and conquering uncertainty. 

In this episode we hear from Dr. Austin, Dean of the Honors College, PD Merrill Endowed Chair of Business at the University of New England, and author of the book "Certain About Uncertainty". 

This is a conversation built for anyone navigating midlife, mid-career change, or the kind of season where the ground keeps shifting under your feet. If you've ever looked at your younger self and wondered where all that confidence went, this one's for you. Spoiler: you didn't lose it. You can rebuild it. 

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• Why uncertainty is NOT the same as risk (and why confusing them costs you) 
• The fog metaphor that reframes how you face the unknown 
• Why 8-year-olds don't fear uncertainty — but most adults do 
• The "expert trap" and why expertise can make you LESS adaptive 
• The Uncertainty Intelligence Framework: See, React, Prepare 
• The Backward-Forward Flip: a simple exercise that reveals your blind spots 
• Two habits you can start this week to build real uncertainty intelligence

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Resources from This Episode: 

Certain About Uncertainty, by John Austin: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/utxw8

As an Amazon Partner, our podcast earns from qualified purchases at no extra cost to you. 

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⭐ Want to be a guest on The Cluttered Path? Send Todd Carswell a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/toddcarswell 

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🎯 About John Austin, PhD

John Austin is dean of the Honors College and the P.D. Merrill Endowed Chair of Business at the University of New England. A researcher, educator, and executive development leader, he has spent more than two decades teaching professionals how to lead and make decisions in uncertain environments.  

🌍 Learn more:

https://certain-about-uncertainty.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnaustinphd/ 

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📫  Where to Find Us:

Web: https://clutteredpath.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath
Questions/Comments:  [email protected] 
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What if the "safe" path is actually the riskiest choice you'll ever make?

In this episode of The Cluttered Path, we sit down with Suzy May, a certified financial educator, Air Force veteran, mom of two, and full-time slow traveler who has visited over 55 countries. She didn't just dream about a different life, she built one intentionally, financially, and with her whole family in tow.

Suzy and her family spent a full school year in Spain, now split their time between Colorado and Europe, and they are living proof that worldschooling isn't just a fantasy for the ultra-wealthy or untethered. It's a plan you can actually build.

We get into the real questions:

• How did a nurse and Air Force veteran become a globe-trotting financial educator?
• What does it actually cost and how do you make the money work?
• What is worldschooling, and what does education on the road really look like?
• What breaks (and what gets better) when you leave "normal life" behind?
• Is this freedom… or just a different set of trade-offs?

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Resources from This Episode: 

The Simple Path to Wealth, by JL Collins: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/PX6g2B  

Die With Zero, by Bill Perkins: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/CAaaxn 

As an Amazon Partner, our podcast earns from qualified purchases at no extra cost to you. 

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⭐ Want to be a guest on The Cluttered Path? Send Todd Carswell a message on PodMatch here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/toddcarswell 

🎯 About Suzy May

Suzy is a slow-traveling mom helping families explore “worldschooling”, a lifestyle that blends travel, education, and intentional living. Suzy is a certified financial educator and host of the Wander Worldschool podcast. She helps families build real financial plans that turn long-term travel and worldschooling from a dream into a roadmap, whether that's a gap year, a slow travel lifestyle, or raising multilingual kids across continents.

🌍 Connect with Suzy:

• Website: https://suzymaywander.com/
• Podcast: https://www.wanderworldschool.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@suzymay.wander 
• Work with Suzanne: https://beacons.ai/suzymaywander

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📫  Where to Find Us:

Web: https://clutteredpath.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath
Questions/Comments:  [email protected] 
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Ever feel like your dream life is permanently “loading”? Bradley Charbonneau did, until one simple daily choice changed everything.

He was living a "successful life, but it felt empty. Bradley walked away from comfort to create a life that actually meant something. His experiment to write every day for 30 days evolved into a complete identity shift, and the birth of the “Every Single Day” and Repossible philosophy.

In this episode, we dive deep into how consistency reshapes self‑belief, what “doing” truly looks like, and why small, repeatable actions always beat dreams, motivation and planning.

⚡ In this episode:

• How Bradley turned writing every day into life transformation
• Why tiny habits matter more than massive life overhauls
• How to bridge the gap between intention and identity
• Practical steps to make your dreams actionable today

🎙 About Bradley Charbonneau:
Author, speaker, and transformation coach, Bradley Charbonneau helps people shed their “someday” mindset and finally do what matters. Through his programs Every Single Day and Repossible, he shows how disciplined creativity leads to radical freedom.

💥 Where to Find Bradley:

https://repossible.com 

https://bradleycharbonneau.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@repossible 

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Some of Bradley’s Books: 

Repossible (Series):  https://urlgeni.us/amzn/vJNKPU 

Authorpreneur (Series):  https://urlgeni.us/amzn/goR3_w 

Other Resources Mentioned in the Episode:

The “Year of You” Experiment: https://repossible.com/yoy/

Building a Story Brand, by Donald Miller: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/JzGKTJ 

Inside Out Revolution, by Michael Neill: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/3Vi3X 

As an Amazon Partner, our podcast earns from qualified purchases at no extra cost to you. 

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📫  Where to Find Us:

Web: https://clutteredpath.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath
Questions/Comments:  [email protected] 
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What does it really take to build a fulfilling life after everything falls apart?
In this deeply personal episode, Todd Carswell sits with James to share his own story, from a fractured childhood and brutal military experiences to rediscovering faith, leadership, and purpose.

If you’ve ever felt powerless, stuck, or too far gone to start again, this conversation will remind you that your life can still be renewed, one honest step at a time.

🎙 In this episode:

• Breaking the Cycle of Generational Trauma
• Being a Leader Reveals Character Flaws
• The Power of Influence (Negative & Positive)
• Finding Purpose Through Your Own Personal Agency
• Life Happens Despite Our Plans

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Resources from This Episode: 

About Face, by Col (Ret) David Hackworth: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/P7Xedo 

As an Amazon Partner, our podcast earns from qualified purchases at no extra cost to you. 

________________________________________________________________

📫  Where to Find Us:

Web: https://clutteredpath.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath
Questions/Comments:  [email protected] 
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Rand Timmerman survived harrowing combat as an infantry Marine in Vietnam. After the war, he found success as an attorney while battling PTSD, Alcoholism, and Shattered Faith. Later in life, he faced his demons, found grace, and teamed up with his brother to hike the Appalachian trail.

In this episode, Todd sits down with Rand to discuss his book A Spiritual Passage: The True Story of Two Brothers in Their 70s Tackling the Appalachian Trail While Facing Personal Demons and Strengthening Their Faith.

This raw conversation is about trauma, pain, addiction, and a long road to redemption. No matter what troubles you’re facing in life, Rand’s story will remind you: it’s never too late to take that first step toward healing.

Where to find Rand:
https://randtimmerman.com

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✅  Resources from This Episode: 

A Spiritual Passage: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/0gPLw

As an Amazon Partner, our podcast earns from qualified purchases at no extra cost to you. 

________________________________________________________________

📫  Where to Find Us:

Web: https://clutteredpath.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath
Questions/Comments:  [email protected] 
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Some stories punch through the noise because they’re honest, messy, and hopeful. Todd Cowles grew up with absentee parents, learned hustle the hard way, and nearly derailed himself with bad friends and worse choices. Then a rival reached out, a mentor stepped in, and a new path opened. Service, leadership, and the painstaking work of building his own self worth. A single pivot sent Todd to college, into the Air Force, and eventually into the tech industry where he became a Data and AI Architect, and he now helps major corporate brands generate real outcomes fast.

We talk about the inflection points that matter: volunteering under a United Way leader who modeled service, a chance to attend college that unlocked a love of learning, and battlefield nights in Baghdad that left scars and clarity. Todd shares candidly about PTSD, faith, and the practice of reparenting: learning to speak to your younger self with patience and strength. The conversation moves from street‑level survival to practical tools anyone can use to change their arc.

On the tech side, Todd breaks down how a help desk job became a springboard to VMware, Splunk, SPSS, and Apache Spark, and why Databricks turned into a platform for impact. He details how AI serves as a force multiplier, compressing end‑to‑end data, ML, and app delivery from months to days. We explore why core skills like public speaking matter more than ever, and how AI has drastically decreased delivery times.

This episode is a blueprint for midlife reinvention and professional growth: choose friends wisely, take the next courageous step, consult yourself out of a job, and be ready to reinvent every few years. If you’ve ever felt behind or boxed in, Todd’s story is inspiring.

Find Todd Cowles on LinkedIN

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📫  Where to Find Us:

Web: https://clutteredpath.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath
Questions/Comments:  [email protected] 
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In this episode, Todd talks with Cheryl Drury, host of Crack the Book Podcast, about how old words can sharpen modern minds. We dig into why reading classics isn’t simply nostalgia, it’s mental training! 

Cheryl explains how reading Plato, Homer, and Shakespeare can push your limits, deepen focus, and crack open real mental growth in midlife. No fluff. Just ancient ideas proving their power in real life. 

You’ll learn: 

• Why your brain actually craves complex writing 
• How reading slowly builds clarity and confidence 
• What’s wrong with our bite-sized information diet 
• How Cheryl’s reading project turned into a purpose 

Where to Find Cheryl:
Look for “Crack the Book Podcast” or…
https://cheryldrury.substack.com/

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Classic Books Mentioned in this Episode:

The Trial and Death of Socrates: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/s1Ihj7
The Iliad, by Homer: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/kpbBL1
The Odyssey, by Homer: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/uBeYhr
Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/adBqMa
Discourses, by Epictetus: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/Hy3FtB
Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/JyHbr1
Hamlet, by Shakespeare: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/qZE74I
The Divine Comedy, Dante: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/BPRt7D
The Life of Frederick Douglass: https://amzn.to/4qLy8Qo

As an Amazon Partner, our podcast earns from qualified purchases at no extra cost to you. 

________________________________________________________________

📫  Where to Find Us:

Web: https://clutteredpath.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath
Questions/Comments:  [email protected] 
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What if the problem isn’t that you need more… but that you’re carrying too much? In this episode of The Cluttered Path, Todd sits down with Paul Stryer, author of Living the Zero Life, to explore a radically different approach to minimalism, not about owning fewer things, but about releasing the emotional, financial, and psychological weight that quietly drains your life. 

Paul shares his real journey through divorce, overwhelming debt, corporate burnout, and the pressure of performing a life that looked successful but felt heavy. Out of that collapse came a philosophy he calls mental minimalism, the intentional subtraction of drama, unnecessary responsibility, and unsustainable cost of living in order to reclaim peace, clarity, and freedom. 

This conversation goes beyond surface-level self-help and into the deeper work of intentional living, simple living, and life design. It’s about understanding why “someday freedom” is a myth, why peace is built through subtraction, and how money, identity, relationships, and self-worth quietly intertwine beneath the noise. 

🎧 In this episode, you’ll explore: 

• Why minimalism starts in the mind, not the closet 
• How emotional and financial clutter keep you stuck in survival mode 
• The hidden cost of performing success instead of living in alignment 
• Why doing less of the wrong things creates more freedom than doing more 
• A practical framework for designing a lighter, calmer, more intentional life 

If your life looks good on the outside but feels expensive on the inside, this episode offers a grounded reminder: Freedom doesn’t come from adding more habits, goals, or hustle. It comes from letting go of what was never yours to carry in the first place. 

The cost of peace is zero.

Where to Find Paul: 

Website: https://livingthezerolife.com 

Email: [email protected]  

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Resources from This Episode:  

Living the Zero Life, by Paul Stryer: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/FLrjFq

The Simple Path to Wealth, by JL Collins: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/PX6g2B 

As an Amazon Partner, our podcast earns from qualified purchases at no extra cost to you. 

________________________________________________________________

📫  Where to Find Us:

Web: https://clutteredpath.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath
Questions/Comments:  [email protected] 
_________________________________________________________________

🔥 Follow us on Social Media:

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