The Unshakable Life

By Jim BurgoonBusiness Religion & Spirituality Christianity Education Self-Improvement Management

The Unshakable Life episodes

March 26From Dream Career to Chronic Suffering (And Back to Joy): How to Deepen Your Trust in God When Life Hurts with Lara Silverman
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
The Inciting Incident: How Lara lost her dream job as a federal prosecutor just two weeks in due to a mysterious illness, and how she felt the Holy Spirit confirming she could trust the detour.

Wrestling in the Bunker: A raw look at Lara’s three years bedridden, the failed treatments, and the agonizing questions she asked God in the isolated valley.

Spa Day vs. The Cross: The necessary shift away from a theology that claims "if God loves you, he will heal you," to a biblical understanding of "take up your cross".

Acceptance in the Fire: How the Holy Spirit called Lara to acceptance of her illness before she was called to action, and how God uses pain to produce character gain for eternity.

The Plot Twist Love Story: The beautiful and tragic testimony of Lara’s marriage to Matt—a terminal cancer patient—and the lesson that God gives joy midst suffering.

Matt’s Glory: Act Four of Lara’s memoir, detailing how her husband faced death with supernatural courage and joy that impacted their entire church.

Wisdom for the Valley: Lara’s direct message to listeners currently suffering: You are not alone, God understands intimately, and He has not abandoned you.

Connect with Lara

📖 Book: Singing Through Fire by Lara Silverman (Amazon)
▶️ YouTube: The Silverman Show (Music, comedy, and Matt's sermons on suffering)
📷 Instagram: @larasilverman_author
Facebook: Lara Silverman

Connect with Jim
🌐 Website: http://www.leadwithjim.com
🎙️ Ask a Question: https://www.leadwithjim.com/ask
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadwithjim
▶️ YouTube: https://www.leadwithjim.live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadwithjim

Support & Engage with the Show
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.

Thanks for listening!
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. And if this conversation helped you think differently about joy, identity, or learning how to seize the day again, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that they are not stuck where they are.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Some of the links in the notes may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
31 min
March 18The Perfectionist’s Prison: How Your Mindset Is Sabotaging Your Success
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
Excellence vs. Perfectionism: The critical difference between value-based standards that promote growth and rigid expectations designed to hide your fear.

Faithfulness vs. Flawlessness: Why true faithfulness is just taking one step, falling, and getting back up, while flawlessness demands you start completely over.

The Parable of the Perfectionist: A fresh look at Matthew 25, showing why hiding your talents in the ground to avoid failure is the ultimate trap of bad stewardship.

Naming the Real Fear: How to break out of the hamster wheel by honestly identifying the fear of criticism or rejection that is keeping you stuck.

Stop Spiritualizing Delay: Why delayed obedience is just disobedience in disguise, and how to start measuring obedience instead of polish.

Connect with Jim
🌐 Website: http://www.leadwithjim.com
🎙️ Ask a Question: https://www.leadwithjim.com/ask
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadwithjim
▶️ YouTube: https://www.leadwithjim.live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadwithjim

Support & Engage with the Show
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.

Thanks for listening!
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. And if this conversation helped you think differently about joy, identity, or learning how to seize the day again, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that they are not stuck where they are.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Some of the links in the notes may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
23 min
March 11Stop Avoiding Conflict. Start Handling It With Confidence
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
The Myth of "Peace": Why true peace isn't the absence of conflict, but walking through the problem with the right tools and God's presence.

Identity vs. Approach: How to realize that entering into conflict doesn't mean you have to change who you are; it just means you have to change your approach.

Impact vs. Intent: How to seek understanding and ask the right questions instead of assigning blame when someone hurts your feelings.

Rule #1: The "No Texting" Rule: Why trying to resolve real issues over a screen guarantees misunderstanding, and why real issues require real-life conversations.

Rule #2: Behavior over Identity: How to stop attacking character ("You are X") and start expressing feelings ("I felt unseen when...") to keep the conversation productive.

Rule #3: The "One Issue" Rule: Why bringing up 10 old wounds at once guarantees failure, and how to focus on fixing one problem at a time.

Boundaries that Build: How to tell the difference between a healthy boundary that creates a bridge, and an unhealthy boundary used as a weapon when you get offended.

Connect with Jim
🌐 Website: http://www.leadwithjim.com
🎙️ Ask a Question: https://www.leadwithjim.com/ask
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadwithjim
▶️ YouTube: https://www.leadwithjim.live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadwithjim

Support & Engage with the Show
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.

Thanks for listening!
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. And if this conversation helped you think differently about joy, identity, or learning how to seize the day again, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that they are not stuck where they are.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Some of the links in the notes may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
25 min
March 04The Comparison Trap: Why Borrowing Blueprints Builds the Wrong Life
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
The Messed-Up Scoreboard: How superimposing someone else's definition of winning onto your life leaves you constantly confused and exhausted.

Chapter 2 vs. Chapter 10: Why your current season isn't "behind"—it's just early. Discover why you cannot skip the building phase if you want the character to sustain your future.

The 18-Month Detour: Jim’s personal story of joining the John Maxwell team, choosing desperation over faith, and abandoning his speaking assignment for a coaching model that wasn't meant for him.

Borrowing Blueprints: Why mimicking someone else’s anointing guarantees you will end up building someone else's life.

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Comparison: The critical difference between a comparison that produces honor and respect, and one that produces envy, jealousy, and bitterness.

Muting the Triggers: How limiting your exposure (yes, that means stopping the doom scrolling) is a necessary step of spiritual maturity to protect your peace.

Connect with Jim
🌐 Website: http://www.leadwithjim.com
🎙️ Ask a Question: https://www.leadwithjim.com/ask
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadwithjim
▶️ YouTube: https://www.leadwithjim.live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadwithjim

Support & Engage with the Show
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.

Thanks for listening!
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. And if this conversation helped you think differently about joy, identity, or learning how to seize the day again, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that they are not stuck where they are.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Some of the links in the notes may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
23 min
February 25Did I Miss My Calling Because of My Mistakes?
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
The God Positioning System (GPS): How God responds to our wrong turns with grace instead of panic, and gently recalculates our route to get us back on track.

Guide vs. Judge: The critical difference between following a Guide who knows the way and listening to an inner critic who just wants to hit the gavel and declare your trip canceled.

The Purpose of the Scenic Route: Why delays aren't denials. Discover how God uses detours as a training bootcamp for your character, just like He did with Joseph and Jonah.

The 50K Mindset: Lessons from a grueling Spartan race on why you just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when your mind and body want to quit.

Certainty vs. Clarity: Why demanding a 10-year plan keeps you stuck in confusion, and how to embrace the friction of taking the next faithful step.

Muting the Comms: How doom scrolling and negative self-talk overcrowd your internal dialogue, and how to turn down the noise so you can hear the Guide.

Connect with Jim
🌐 Website: http://www.leadwithjim.com
🎙️ Ask a Question: https://www.leadwithjim.com/ask
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadwithjim
▶️ YouTube: https://www.leadwithjim.live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadwithjim

Support & Engage with the Show
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.

Thanks for listening!
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. And if this conversation helped you think differently about joy, identity, or learning how to seize the day again, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that they are not stuck where they are.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Some of the links in the notes may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
22 min
February 18Stop Letting Shame Write Your Story
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
Guilt vs. Shame: Why guilt can actually be healthy (it drives repair), while shame is always destructive (it drives hiding).

Sign #1: The Inner Judge: How to tell if your internal voice is coaching you to grow or sentencing you to life without parole.

Sign #2: The Bunker Mentality: Why we ghost friends, delete social posts, and pray vague prayers to keep people (and God) from seeing the "real" us.

Sign #3: Panic-Driven Hustle: The difference between climbing a mountain (purpose) and running from a bear (fear).

3 Tactical Shifts: Practical tools to "Pause and Name" the thought, reload with truth scripts, and build your "Safe Team

Connect with Jim
🌐 Website: http://www.leadwithjim.com
🎙️ Ask a Question: https://www.leadwithjim.com/ask
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadwithjim
▶️ YouTube: https://www.leadwithjim.live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadwithjim

Support & Engage with the Show
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.

Thanks for listening!
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. And if this conversation helped you think differently about joy, identity, or learning how to seize the day again, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that they are not stuck where they are.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Some of the links in the notes may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
24 min
February 11The Curse of Competence: Why "I Can" Doesn't Mean "I Should"
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
The "I Got This" Reflex: Why hyper-independence is often a sign of unhealed trust issues rather than leadership strength.

Capacity vs. Calling: The two questions you must ask yourself before taking on any new task: Am I able to do this? vs. Is this mine to do?.

The Jethro Principle: Lessons from Moses on why sustainable leadership requires community, not just individual heroism.

Prayerful Yes vs. Automatic Yes: How to retrain your nervous system to pause and discern before committing.

The Cost of "Good": How being praised for the wrong things can drain your energy and lead to physical autoimmune responses.

Connect with Jim
🌐 Website: http://www.leadwithjim.com
🎙️ Ask a Question: https://www.leadwithjim.com/ask
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadwithjim
▶️ YouTube: https://www.leadwithjim.live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadwithjim

Support & Engage with the Show
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.

Thanks for listening!
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. And if this conversation helped you think differently about joy, identity, or learning how to seize the day again, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that they are not stuck where they are.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Some of the links in the notes may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
24 min
February 04Why Your Friends and Family Are Killing Your Vision
Key Takeaways:
The Anatomy of a Doubter: Most doubters aren't villains; they are just people projecting their own unhealed hurts and fears onto you . They are often trying to protect a version of you that makes them feel comfortable

Mandate vs. Preference: We use the word "dream" too lightly—a dream is often just a preference, but a mandate is a responsibility. When God gives you a mandate, you do not need permission or affirmation from the crowd to obey it .

The Feedback Filter: Not all advice is an investment; some of it is just noise. Learn to ask the hard question: "Has the person giving me this advice ever built what I am trying to build?" .

Coach vs. Critic: A critic wants you to stay where they are so they can feel right; a coach wants you to win . You need to curate an inner circle of builders who aren't afraid to tell you the truth but will never ask you to stop being brave.

Movement is the Antidote: Doubt grows in stillness and perfectionism. The only way to silence the inner critic is to take one messy step forward, because movement creates evidence that the doubt was wrong.

Connect with Jim
🌐 Website: http://www.leadwithjim.com
🎙️ Ask a Question: https://www.leadwithjim.com/ask
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadwithjim
▶️ YouTube: https://www.leadwithjim.live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadwithjim

Support & Engage with the Show
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.

Thanks for listening!
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. And if this conversation helped you think differently about joy, identity, or learning how to seize the day again, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that they are not stuck where they are.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Some of the links in the notes may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
21 min
January 27Is AI Stealing Your Voice? (A Reality Check for 2026)
Key Takeaways:
The Real Threat: AI didn't steal the truck driving jobs; it stole the writing, the thinking, and the mission statements. We have handed over our convictions to an algorithm.

Drafting vs. Crafting: The new rule for creators: Use AI for Drafting (brainstorming, organizing, outlining), but never for Crafting (voice, emotion, story). Drafting is mechanical; Crafting is art.

The Librarian Analogy: Think of AI as a librarian. It knows where all the information is, but it does not decide what matters. It cannot interpret meaning; only you can do that.

The Speed Trap: Just because you can write 10 devotionals in an hour doesn't mean you should. Speed is not the same as faithfulness. If you bypass the struggle of creation, you bypass the growth of the creator.

The "Prophetic" AI Story: Jim shares the moment ChatGPT tried to tell him "what God is saying," and why he had to set a hard boundary: AI is a learning model, not a prophetic conduit.

Resources Mentioned:

Watch the AI Experiments: Check out the YouTube channel at LeadWithJim.Live

Connect with Jim
🌐 Website: http://www.leadwithjim.com
🎙️ Ask a Question: https://www.leadwithjim.com/ask
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadwithjim
▶️ YouTube: https://www.leadwithjim.live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadwithjim

Support & Engage with the Show
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.

Thanks for listening!
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. And if this conversation helped you think differently about joy, identity, or learning how to seize the day again, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that they are not stuck where they are.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Some of the links in the notes may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
20 min
January 215 Subtle Mistakes That Keep You Stuck (and What to Do Instead)
Key Takeaways:
Clarity vs. Certainty: You say you are waiting for clarity, but you are actually waiting for certainty. God rarely gives blueprints; He gives next steps. Motion builds clarity; stillness multiplies doubt.

The "Conference High" Trap: We love the event, but we hate the process. Transformation isn't an emotional breakthrough; it is a boring, repetitive habit.

The Freeze Response: Trying to fix your business, health, and marriage all in one week isn't discipline—it's overload. Pick one battle to win this season.

False Peace: Many people say "I'm at peace" when they are actually just disassociated or avoiding a hard truth. You cannot fix what you will not name.

Shame vs. Identity: There is a difference between "I failed" and "I am a failure." One is an event; the other is an identity. You are not disqualified for stumbling.

Favorite Quotes:
"Motion builds clarity. Stillness multiplies doubt and confusion."

"Transformation, quite frankly, is boring."

"Depth creates stability. Breadth creates collapse."

"You can't fix what you don't name 'cause you don't know what you're healing."

"Self-awareness is not self-condemnation."

Connect with Jim
🌐 Website: http://www.leadwithjim.com
🎙️ Ask a Question: https://www.leadwithjim.com/ask
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadwithjim
▶️ YouTube: https://www.leadwithjim.live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadwithjim

Support & Engage with the Show
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.

Thanks for listening!
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. And if this conversation helped you think differently about joy, identity, or learning how to seize the day again, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that they are not stuck where they are.

Affiliate Disclosure:

Some of the links in the notes may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
24 min

About The Unshakable Life

From the publisher's feed

Do you feel called to make a huge impact—to lead, create, and build what God has put on your heart—but find yourself feeling stuck, scattered, or spiritually off track?

Share The Unshakable Life

Sign up to save your podcasts

The Unshakable Life

The Unshakable Life episodes

About The Unshakable Life