Choose The Better Story Podcast

Tired of settling for the life you don't want?  Ready to rewrite the narrative for a better future? Book a FREE vision call with Coach Ryan Wright using the link below. https://calendar.app.google/WgntoZad3hwYWfq96 Terry Tucker has been a college basketball player, a SWAT hostage negotiator, and for the last 14 years, a cancer warrior. Diagnosed in 2012 with a rare form of melanoma and given...

Feeling stuck in life?  Ready to rewrite the future you really want? Book a FREE vision call with Coach Ryan Wright using the link below. https://calendar.app.google/WgntoZad3hwYWfq96 Aboss Khan was born into a persecuted Muslim sect, fled violence in Pakistan before he was born, and spent his childhood buried in ritual, abuse, and isolation. By 15, he was Muslim in name only — atheist at hea...

Tired of settling for the life you don't want?  Ready to rewrite the narrative for a better future? Book a FREE vision call with Coach Ryan Wright using the link below. https://calendar.app.google/WgntoZad3hwYWfq96 What would you choose: $3 million today, or a penny that doubles in value every day for 31 days? The answer might reveal something about the way you think about success. In this ep...

Tired of settling for the life you don't want?  Ready to rewrite the narrative for a better future? Book a FREE vision call with Coach Ryan Wright using the link below. https://calendar.app.google/WgntoZad3hwYWfq96 Eric Vickery didn't plan to become a leading voice in dental practice coaching — but a rocky start as an unqualified office manager, a company collapse in 2010, and years of rebuil...

Tired of settling for the life you don't want?  Ready to rewrite the narrative for a better future? Book a FREE vision call with Coach Ryan Wright using the link below. https://calendar.app.google/WgntoZad3hwYWfq96 Chris Frankovich is much more than a wedding DJ. In this episode, Chris takes us behind the scenes of one of the most important days in a couple's life — from the pressure of makin...

Feeling stuck in life? Ready to rewrite the future you really want? Book a FREE vision call with Coach Ryan Wright using the link below. https://calendar.app.google/WgntoZad3hwYWfq96 Toni Will is the GM of the Kalamazoo Wings professional hockey team, a keynote speaker, podcast host, and author of Rebellious Success. In this episode, she shares her unlikely path from banking to running a men's pro...

Dwayne Morton is a former international basketball player, an author, and a resilience coach — but his real story starts after the game ended. In 2006, he was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer that reshaped his entire life: relationships lost, a handicap parking tag, and the unknown future. Then, 18 years later, a new oncologist delivered the twist no one saw coming — Dwayne had been misdiagnosed...

Feeling stuck in life?  Ready to rewrite the future you really want? Book a FREE vision call with Coach Ryan Wright using the link below. https://calendar.app.google/WgntoZad3hwYWfq96 In the 1970s, a teenage Anne Montgomery declared she wanted to be a sportscaster — and was told, again and again, that women simply didn't do that. She did it anyway, working her way through sports officiating (...

In this mid-year review, Ryan gets honest about the fears he's faced head-on this year.  He unpacks a simple but powerful truth: fear keeps people stuck, and regret is what happens when we let fear win the day.  From there, Ryan shines a spotlight on real people who've been guests on the show who looked fear in the eye and chose action anyway — entrepreneurs who left stable careers, indi...

After 24 years climbing the ladder at UPS, running 11 different centers across Northern California, Brandon Carter lost his job — and it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. In this episode, Brandon opens up about leadership roles in corporate America, and a shift that eventually led him to entrepreneurship, business coaching, and a life he actually wants to live. He and Ryan...

What if the story of your future doesn't have to be a default one? In this episode, executive coach and Novus Global Chief Expansion Officer David Miller joins Ryan to unpack what it means to choose your own adventure. David opens up about navigating a progressive neuromuscular condition and how it's reshaped his relationship with performance and identity, the real difference between coaching, con...

On September 17, 2019, Matthew and Hannah Efird were told their son had Trisomy 13 — and that ending the pregnancy was the reasonable choice. They chose to carry him anyway. Noah was born on March 7 and lived for 57.5 hours. In this episode, Matthew shares the raw, unfiltered truth of that decision: what it cost, what it gave back, and how a choice the world called foolish became the foundation fo...

He's dove two miles underwater, surfed the big waves of Hawaii's North Shore for 42 years, and built survival gear trusted by SpaceX and the military. But his biggest challenge was 19 years as a full-time caregiver to his paralyzed wife. In this episode, Dr. Ron Yonover (Scientist/Inventor/Adventurer) shares what extreme survival taught him about everyday life — and what it really takes to thrive,...

What do star thistles, a old 1977 Datsun pickup, and a Goodyear franchise owner have in common? Teenage hustle that turned into opportunity.  In this episode, Ryan tells the story about "The Avocado" — his first truck, named for its questionable green paint job — and the deal that changed everything: pull an acre of star thistle off a tire store owner's property, and walk away with a brand-ne...

In 2018, the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise, California and changed thousands of lives forever.  Sydney Robinson was just one of thousands of lives impacted by the fire.   After experiencing tremendous loss, Sydney chose not to remain a victim of her circumstances. Today, she volunteers countless hours advocating for Camp Fire survivors, attending hearings, engaging with l...

On this Father's Day episode, Ryan reflects on the influence fathers have on our lives--through their presence, their sacrifice, their wisdom, and sometimes even through their absence. Whether you're celebrating a dad, missing a dad, forgiving a dad, becoming a dad, or striving to be a better dad yourself, this episode is an invitation to honor what is good, heal what is broken, and intentionallly...

At just 17 years old, Garrett Verrilli lost his mother to leukemia--a loss that left him searching for a way to cope. What followed was a years-long battle with alcohol, an attempt to numb the pain and fill the void. In this powerful conversation, Garrett shares his journey through grief, addiction, recovery, and ultimately purpose. Today he's a husband, father, and thriving entrepreneur who has d...

What do you to when your dream doesn't go according to plan? After playing football at USC and falling short of his dream to play in the NFL, Christian John Bradley turned one of life's biggest disappointments into a mission. In this episode, Christian shares lessons from elite athletics, overcoming setbacks, and developing the mindset that fuels peak performance on the field, on the court,in the...

At just 20 years old, James Condit has faced more adversity than most people experience in a lifetime--yet his outlook on life is refreshing and unbelievably positive. Living with spina bifida and navigating life in a wheelchair, he's chosen purpose over pity, resilience over excuses, and continues to inspire everyone around him with his mindset and determination. After surviving the 2018 Camp Fir...

Gabriel’s story is one of choices, hard consequences, and a complete life turnaround. In this episode, he opens up about his introduction to opiates during his senior year of high school, how small choices led him down a dangerous path, and the details about how he landed in prison. But this conversation isn’t just about addiction or incarceration — it’s about accountability, perspective, and rebu...

The Hekman's are one of the rare families whose home survived the Camp Fire of 2018. As the town of Paradise is being rebuilt around them, Chris Hekman and his family decide to do a little building of thier own. In this episode Chris talks about life after the wildfire, and chasing down a dream in the wake of destruction. He shares how both fear and thrill play a role in starting HEKTIK, and what...

John Michael Hinton was born to be on stage. While most people are terrified at the thought of getting up in front of an audience, that's where John feels the most at home as a performer. In order for John to do what he was always meant to do (perform magic & illusions in front of large audiences), he had to take big risks and courageous action along the way.  In this episode we uncover t...

In 2018, the Camp Fire erased an entire town. Homes gone. Schools destroyed. A community scattered overnight. Kelli Gordon's story starts long before the fire. Being adopted shaped how she sees identity, resilience, and belonging. Then came the ultimate test: leading students, families, and a community through loss, uncertainty, and the long road to rebuilding. This is a conversation about leaders...

In this powerful conversation, Jessica Sandoval opens up about the story behind the badge. Her marriage to her husband Cesar, a former police officer, and the difficult reality that followed his retirement. What happens when the service ends, but the internal battle doesn't? In this honest and emotional conversation, Jessica shares the unseen struggles that impacted thier family, the love that rem...

To say life has thrown Jeremy some major curveballs would be an understatement. In this episode we unpack the topic of loss, grief, and what it looks means to choose the better story when life doesn't make sense.  Jeremy has turned his grief and processing into a hobby & side hustle using his love for photography.  He's got a unique ability to communicate story through his photograph...