Words from the Wise Podcast

Send us Fan Mail

Some careers are straight lines. Terence Harmon’s is a fight through storms—boot camp setbacks, a fraternization hit that torpedoed his first run at MA, a year in Gitmo during riots—and a steady climb back built on mentorship, discipline, and no-nonsense leadership. We dive into how a country kid from Talladega found his footing on a destroyer, got his pride checked by a tough BM2, and turned into the kind of deck plate leader who lifts standards and people at the same time.

From Japan port ops and the immediate shock of 9/11 to the long nights on Charleston gates, Terence explains what changed when security became a warfighting function. He takes us inside Guantanamo Bay’s hardest days, missing advancement by points, and the perspective that gave him as a leader who knows what it feels like when the system overlooks you. Then comes the pivot—a Sailor of the Year nod at the brig, making chief on terminal leave, and choosing the hard way back to sea on FDNF Ashland. The Chiefs’ Mess rebuilt a culture the old way: clean programs, relentless reps, and a simple rule—no re-dos. It worked.

We follow Terence through a staff tour at NECC that turned into a breakout eval, his selection to Master Chief and the CMC program, a greenside tour with Third Medical Battalion in Okinawa, and finally Bahrain, where he leads brilliant ITs and ETs in an information warfare world far from his MA roots. Along the way, he shares the rules that lasted: let no one tell you no; take the jobs that decide outcomes; don’t be your sailors’ friend—be their leader; and trust the process when it gets messy, because storms are part of the route.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in “traffic,” wondered how to bounce back after a bad call, or needed a template for turning a team into a standard, this conversation delivers. Subscribe, share with a shipmate, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway—what storm are you fighting through right now?

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/

Send us Fan Mail

What does it take to fix a system that keeps letting kids down? We sit down with Dr. Nelva Lee—healthcare executive turned education reformer—to map a practical path from broken metrics to better lives. Her story runs from directing patient advocacy at a major health system to founding a medical interpreting trade school, and now to a statewide campaign for Georgia’s superintendent of schools. Along the way, she learned how to coach under pressure, where bureaucracy hides waste, and why fundamentals beat fads every time.

We start with the basics: if a diploma doesn’t translate into literacy, numeracy, and a job-ready skill, it’s a broken promise. Dr. Lee lays out a clear plan to embed trade certificates into high school so graduates are workforce ready on day one—without closing the door to college. She makes the case for restoring phonics, demanding real rigor, and aligning coursework to outcomes like SAT readiness and entry into high-value trades. The numbers in Georgia are a wake-up call, and she’s unapologetic about measuring what matters and changing what doesn’t.

Leadership threads through every segment. You’ll hear how to hold tough conversations with dignity and documentation, when to coach and when to cut, and how appreciation, flexible time, and growth opportunities transform morale. We dig into faith and meditation as steadying tools for high-stakes decisions, then move to communication tactics that actually land—vision upfront, one-on-ones for alignment, and redundancy so messages reach every layer. Dr. Lee also tackles administration bloat, argues for directing dollars to classrooms and teachers, and commits to two terms to keep urgency high and complacency low.

If you care about student outcomes, teacher morale, and leadership that trades slogans for execution, this conversation brings receipts and a roadmap. Listen, share it with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review with the one change you’d make first—then hit follow so you don’t miss what’s next.

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/

Send us Fan Mail

A small-town country kid from deep East Texas—near Beaumont and Jasper—joins the Navy in 1986 as an undesignated fireman and steps aboard the legendary USS Midway in Yokosuka, Japan. What follows is a 22+ year career defined not by flash, but by quiet competence, decisive action, and an unshakable commitment to taking care of people.

Brian Nelson rides out a brutal typhoon that warps hangar bay doors on Midway, transitions to amphibious ops on the young USS Germantown (where Marines bring discipline and heavy gear), stands post as a gate guard at NAS North Island (where he meets his wife), and returns to sea on frigates and LSDs. Time and again he steps into broken programs—outdated RPMs, incomplete 3M systems, impending INSURV—and rebuilds them from scratch. On USS Rentz, he halts a countermeasure washdown test that would have flooded ventilation systems, redraws the book, earns the trust of a brand-new ensign DCA, drives a clean 3M assist-to-certification, then pivots to lead INSURV prep—all while wearing the collateral 3MC hat.

At Afloat Training Group San Diego, his impact scales to the waterfront. As the senior DC leader, he refuses to let Damage Controlmen remain the overlooked “boneyard” crowd. He rewards the quiet high performers, enforces fair (and merit-based) evals, pushes for recognition, and reminds every assessor that the mission is fleet readiness—not gotcha inspections. Carrier teams, nuke interfaces, and aviation worlds become proving grounds for calm, fair, firm leadership that turns sour shops into talent pipelines (several ATG alumni later pin master chief or command master chief stars).

When family medical needs collide with another sea tour, Brian makes the hardest call: retire at just under 23 years to be present where it matters most. The choice isn’t defeat—it’s a standard. In civil service he continues the work—guiding young airmen who lack mentorship, warning parents how one youthful charge can bar federal employment for a decade, and translating deckplate discipline into everyday integrity.

Gary Wise calls this one of the most important conversations he’s ever recorded. Brian is the man who—years ago—quietly swapped orders so a young Chief Wise could ride ships as a DC leader instead of being sidelined in ATFP. That single act of mentorship changed Gary’s trajectory; now Gary returns the favor by sharing Brian’s full story.

If you value leaders who:

• Choose people over politics
• Fix broken systems without drama
• Communicate clearly and hold standards without ego
• Know when to stay in the fight and when to step away for family

…this episode delivers. Hit play, share it with the shipmate, mentor, or chief who quietly changed your path, and if it resonates, subscribe, drop a review, and tell us: Who was your Brian Nelson?

Words From The Wise—real stories, real leadership, real gratitude.

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/

Send us Fan Mail

What does it really take to grow from an 18-year-old radioman into a Command Master Chief trusted to steady a carrier crew? We sit down with retired Master Chief Shaun Brahmsteadt to map a 35-year journey packed with hard choices, honest mentorship, and the kind of leadership that delivers results when it counts. From a tiny Northern California town to Cold War boot camp, from a sub-chasing shore billet to first deployments, Sean shares how curiosity, discipline, and humility turned confusion into competence—and competence into command trust.

The story shifts coasts and tempos: Norfolk’s formality, Guantanamo’s relentless drills, and a NATO tour in Italy with six days off at a time. On Kitty Hawk, he earns his warfare pin and navigates rating mergers. Recruiting duty tests his values, and he chooses truth over salesmanship—signing six future sailors in a day by telling them what the first year really looks like. Then come the tours that forged his command voice: USS Duluth LPD-6 through 9/11, launching Marines, guarding oil terminals, qualifying as Officer of the Deck, and training a radio team to a back-to-back Green E. The theme that keeps returning is simple and demanding: over-train, communicate the why, and trust your people.

Crossing to aviation, Sean earns his wings the right way—learning the rating, qualifying as a plane captain, and launching F/A-18s from Nimitz. As carrier CMC on George Washington, he inherits culture friction and turns it into focus, aligning a massive crew around shared standards and winning back-to-back Battle E. Later flag staff roles at Pax River and DLA reveal a different battlefield—acquisition timelines, test squadrons, and enterprise logistics—where a senior enlisted leader becomes translator, advocate, and conscience.

If you lead teams, recruit talent, or just want to see how courage and candor scale across ships, squadrons, and staffs, this conversation delivers a field manual: tell the truth, train until calm, time your emotions, and lead so others will follow. Subscribe, share with a shipmate, and leave a review with your favorite takeaway—we’d love to hear what resonated most.

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/

Send us Fan Mail

History isn’t background noise here; it’s the compass. We open by connecting Cold War alliances to today’s fault lines, then ride along as David Cano—retired Navy Chief Hospital Corpsman—shares how “sailor first” shaped every step: enlisting three months before 9/11, stabilizing patients in Iraq’s trauma bays, and learning that prevention is power when you’re safeguarding a ship’s water, food, and heat stress programs.

From Okinawa to Al Asad, then outside the wire in Helmand as an IA, David pulls back the curtain on what high‑tempo service really asks of people. He explains why line corpsmen are the beating heart of battlefield care, how a carrier in Japan can be both the toughest and most rewarding tour, and what it takes to recalibrate in Rota, Spain where diplomacy, partnership, and patience share the stage with checklists. Making chief becomes a lesson in active communication, humility, and lifting others—anchors as identity, not ornament.

The conversation turns deeply personal with COVID, hospitalization, and the loss of a father in the same week—an inflection point that led to retirement and a new mission. David’s next chapter, Dave’s Transmissions, blends national security, economic opportunity, health affairs, education, history, and science into clear, practical writing guided by a simple credo: be good, fight evil, help people. Along the way, we trade rapid‑fire insights on parenting teenagers, choosing overseas orders, building resilience, and prioritizing in a world engineered for distraction.

If stories of service, leadership, faith, and starting over speak to you, press play. Then share this with someone who needs a steady voice, subscribe for more candid conversations, and leave a review to tell us what moment hit home for you.

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when you hate running, but choose obedience anyway? That’s the spark at the heart of this conversation with faith-first performance coach Chris Avery — a man who ran a marathon with zero training, logged a mile a day until it became years, and is now mapping a 12,000-mile mission to run the perimeter of America. The story isn’t about superhuman talent; it’s about ordinary action empowered by faith, forgiveness, and a stubborn loyalty to purpose.

We trace Chris’s path from addiction to sobriety, through marriage and fatherhood, and into a coaching philosophy built on simple, repeatable habits. He breaks down the “loop” that changed everything: fail, return to God, fail less, return faster. That spiritual muscle shows up in practical ways — a one-mile start, a 90-day push-up and pull-up challenge, and a run streak designed to protect family and lifestyle. Along the way we unpack why obedience isn’t control but covenant, how purpose emerges in motion, and why perseverance beats resilience when you want fewer knockdowns and more forward lean.

Leaders will love the call for observation over assumptions and “courageous conversations” that replace passive friction with honest dialogue. Parents will find tools to regulate, slow down, and bring grace into the home. Runners and non-runners alike will recognize a blueprint: think in belief, speak in trust, act in faith. If you’ve been waiting for clarity, this episode argues for a different plan — start small, listen hard, and let obedience align your steps with a God-sized mission.

If this resonated, tap follow, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people find the show. Your next faithful step could change your map.

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/

Send us Fan Mail

Stress doesn’t start at the crisis point; it starts the moment the phone lights up. We open with the real baseline most of us carry—pings, expectations, and a mind that wakes up in the yellow—and then lay down a clear roadmap to navigate the day without losing yourself. Drawing on years of Navy leadership and today’s classroom realities, we use the Operational Stress Control colors to name what you’re feeling and the simple stress equation—pressure minus perceived capability—to show where to intervene.

From there, we unpack four practical buckets of stress: worry, fear, anxiety, and panic. Each one gets its own antidote. Worry dissolves when you seek the truth instead of spiraling in the unknown. Fear loosens when you act—build skill, ask for help, or negotiate time. Anxiety becomes manageable when you map objectives, sequence steps, and match resources to goals. Panic needs physiology first: box breathing, grounding, trusted teammates, and, for many, prayer. When you can name the bucket, you can pick the right tool and move from red toward green without pretending the pressure isn’t real.

You’ll also hear straight talk on leadership costs, boundary-setting, and the subtle ways rescheduling can make tomorrow harder. We share personal stories—from damage control drills to teaching cadets—that show how honest status checks, shared load, and clear priorities protect both performance and people. If you’ve been carrying too much for too long, this conversation offers language, steps, and courage to reset. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and tell us: which color are you in today? Your check-in might be the nudge someone else needs to breathe, plan, and move forward.

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/

Send us Fan Mail

A wound left untended doesn’t just hurt—it starts to steer. That idea threads through a gripping conversation with author, speaker, and publisher Athena Dean Holtz, whose journey spans Scientology, pioneering PTSD advocacy, a booming publishing house, and a long season of spiritual abuse that cost her marriage, company, and community. What emerged on the other side is a hard-won clarity about discernment, forgiveness, and the everyday mechanics of spiritual warfare.

We start with the early days of Point Man Ministries, where Athena helped bring PTSD into the light for veterans and their families—years before the term went mainstream. From bootstrapping a book that eventually reached hundreds of thousands to co-founding WinePress and elevating indie Christian publishing, she shares what excellence requires and how success can become a sedative when deeper wounds go unaddressed. That unhealed pain, she says, made her vulnerable to leaders who weaponized scripture, cut her off from loved ones, and manipulated her into handing over a thriving company for ten dollars.

The pivot came with radical honesty and intensive counseling. Step by step, Athena learned why “you can’t resist what you don’t recognize” is more than a line—it’s a map. We unpack the parallels between guerrilla tactics and the enemy’s strategies today: isolate, exhaust, distort, and divide. Her latest book, No Longer Hidden, translates those insights into practical tools: read scripture in context, build boundaries without bitterness, and practice forgiveness from the heart. Not approval. Not access. Obedience and freedom.

If you’re navigating church hurt, leadership betrayal, or the fog that follows trauma, this story offers sturdy hope and clear next steps. Word and prayer as daily armor. Community that tells you the truth. Craft and integrity in your calling. And the courage to name what’s really at work so you can finally push back. Listen, reflect, and share with someone who needs language for what they’ve been feeling. Then subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: which red flag are you done ignoring?

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/

Send us Fan Mail

A kid from Staten Island walks three miles to a Navy recruiter after a jobsite blowup and ends up a warrant officer, a chief engineer, and finally a financial advisor. That’s not luck—it’s discipline, mentorship, and a lot of deckplate reps. Gary sits down with his shipmate Jody Schilling to trace the full arc: boot camp in Orlando, Treasure Island A School, meeting a destroyer in Bahrain, and learning damage control fast under real pressure. Along the way, Jody owns his missteps, turns NJPs into fuel, teaches DC indoc, and earns ESWS by treating standards like a sport.

The conversation digs into the gear and the grit: OBA to SCBA transitions, Halon decisions when the heat won’t quit, and the night a “Bravo fire” turned out to be a frozen fan. You’ll hear why recruiting after 9/11 worked when it focused on follow-up and results, not overtime and waivers. We get gator life with Marines aboard, ballasting math, and a SWO(L) pin earned on watch, not in theory. As a warrant DCA, Jody pushes for recognition systems that surface more talent and moves the crew from compliance to readiness.

Then it widens: a small-ship chief engineer tour under COVID, geobaching, and writing evals that actually move sailors—EL letters, real quals, faster promotions. In Bahrain, he fixes broken ranges for $13 instead of $40K, builds qualification boards, and helps sailors stack degrees while the mission rolls. The thread through it all is simple and powerful: take average and make it good; take good and make it great; take great and make it lead. That same mindset powers his post-Navy pivot to Edward Jones, where helping families plan feels like one more watch worth standing.

If you value honest sea stories, practical leadership, and the mechanics of reinvention, you’ll find a lot to take with you—whether you’re chasing ESWS, running a shop, or planning your next career. Listen, share it with someone who needs a push, and drop a review so more vets and leaders can find the show.

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/

Send us Fan Mail

When emotions run hot, one choice can change everything. Gary Wise lays out a clear, battle-tested way to slow the moment, tell the truth about what you feel, and make a response you won’t regret tomorrow. Drawing on decades of Navy leadership, teaching, fatherhood, and faith, we unpack why emotional intelligence matters more than ever in a world of constant comparison, instant judgment, and phones that never sleep.

We break down a simple playbook you can use under pressure: name the emotion with honesty, create a pause through prayer or reflection, and move through What happened, So what it changes, and Now what you’ll do. Then we add the Navy’s Plan, Brief, Execute, Debrief loop to turn hard moments into learning cycles you can repeat. Along the way, we tackle the difference between grief and pity, how to set a time limit on self-pity, and how to build inner reasons that keep you moving when the cheering stops. Expect practical stories, tough-love encouragement, and tools you can try the same day.

We also get real about boundaries and trust, especially around phones and social media. Clear expectations reduce drama; unclear ones multiply it. Support lands better when we listen first, ask better questions, and offer advice by permission. The goal isn’t to feel less—it’s to feel wisely, act with courage, and protect your future from impulsive choices. If you’ve been looking for a grounded, faith-forward approach to emotional intelligence, perseverance, and better conversations at home, school, and work, this one’s for you.

If this resonates, follow Words from the Wise, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help others find the show. Got a topic you want us to tackle next? Send it our way.

https://www.wordsfromthewise.net/