Crew 1st Culture Podcast

During a time of experiencing the excitement of feeling that something big is coming it’s hard to find the balance between searching and reflecting on what’s next and being patient and understanding that it’s not going to happen on my time table. What are we missing and how can I be used to fill that gap? - That’s the question. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know...

Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing Dads out there. I guess it’s only fitting that episode 150 is is recorded and uploaded in honor of this great day. There’s nothing that I’ve ever wanted to be better at in life than a husband and a father but these also seem to be the 2 things that I’ve struggled with the most. Just a little of my story that I’ll share with those who need to hear it. Thank you...

Today I try to share a little part of my journey that is obvious needs to be shared. I have been avoiding digging in to the topic of mental health as far as the role it’s played in my life for a long time. But I have finally come to the conclusion that I can run all I want to but if this is a part of my purpose I can’t run fast or far enough to get away from it. It’s time to embrace it and see how...

In the final part of this 3-part series, we pick up right where we left off in my conversation with Olivia and Eric from Yoga For First Responders. If you did not listen to the last 2 episode, I would suggest you start their first so that you don't miss any of the great takeaways from the knowledge and passion that Olivia and Eric share. If someone were to tell you that 5,000 years ago a prog...

In this episode we pick up right where we left off in my conversation with Olivia and Eric from Yoga For First Responders. If you did not listen to the last episode, I would suggest you start there first. Look for part 3 to be released very shortly. If someone were to tell you that 5,000 years ago a program was started in order to train the most elite warriors of that time to become calm and cente...

If someone were to tell you that 5,000 years ago a program was started in order to train the most elite warriors of that time to become calm and centered in any situation, I’m sure it would pique some interest. How about if you found out that it teaches mastery of the mind and optimal functioning of the entire body, sounds even better. Oh, and one last thing, the teaching and techniques of this pr...

Today's "Road Trip Reflections" I try to shed a little different perspective on "The Mission" and what "For Them" means to me. I am glad to see some movement back towards prioritizing our citizens, but I feel like we stay way too linear with our thinking when we consider who "For Them" really should be addressing. Take a little time to listen to my thou...

Will Rogers is quoted to say "The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces." I will go a step further and say that there are many exit ramps as well on that road. But whether it's a parking space or exit ramp there's no question that choosing them will not lead to a successful ending. Parking spaces will keep us stuck in one place, while exit ramps will lead...

Today's thoughts revolve around the serendipity of our lives and how our journeys have led us to where we are. As well as thinking of those who have seemingly turned their back on the mission and forgotten how blessed they were to be given this opportunity. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where...

A very raw Episode looking back on my journey as a brother then and now. Thank you for listening! Click here to leave a message to let me know what you think & how this episode impacted you. No matter where or what you came from, great things can come from you!

Are you willing to sacrifice who you want to be in order to become who you were meant to be? This is a pretty deep question but before you get to a place that you can answer it there are a couple of other questions that you must answer. What is your identity and what is your purpose? These questions will require some deep and honest reflection but once you have a picture of them that is clearer ev...

The fire service will beat you down in every way; add to that whatever challenges that you may be facing at home and it becomes critical to have a close support system to help you through the rough patches. Who are you surrounding yourself with. If it isn't people that truly care about you and are eager to help you improve and excel then it's time to reevaluate your circle. I discuss why...

One of the many take aways from my first trip to FDIC last week was one of opportunity. I am a firm believer that we are all given several opportunities each day to make a difference. Some of these may be big opportunities but most are probably something that may seem minor at the time. No matter how big or small they seem if we are given an opportunity to add value or make a difference in someone...

I am sure everyone out there has weathered a few storms in their lifetime. The storms I am referring to are the storms that the circumstances of life seem to bring here and there. I have been through my share, and I think it is safe to say that my family is weathering one once again currently. The biggest difference from those storms in my past and this one is that I have a great teammate in my sp...

Today I want to talk some about leveling up our leadership by going from being a good leader to becoming a transformational leader. That transformation has to start within us first, we can't add value to others if we don't have anything valuable to give. Once we have something valuable to share, we have to keep our eyes open for the opportunities to share it with others. "Success co...

This episode is part 3 of a 3 part series with Ric Jorge. If you missed the last 2 episodes go listen to them so you’re caught up as this one picks up right where we left off at the end of part 2.  Without a doubt, Ric is one of my favorite people in the world and I’m so excited to share that conversation with you all. After visiting Ric and his team (Tactical  Resiliency Training-TRT) at NFFX dur...

This episode is part 2 of a 3 part series with Ric Jorge. If you missed the last episode go listen to it first as this one picks up right where we left off.  Without a doubt, Ric is one of my favorite people in the world and I’m so excited to share that conversation with you all. After visiting Ric and his team (Tactical  Resiliency Training-TRT) at NFFX during their “Developing High Performance”...

This episode is part 1 of a 3 part series with Ric Jorge. Without a doubt, Ric is one of my favorite people in the world and I’m so excited to share that conversation with you all. After visiting Ric and his team (Tactical  Resiliency Training-TRT) at NFFX during their “Developing High Performance” class I knew that I had to get him on the show again to talk about the importance of connection. I w...

Today's thoughts come me from a quote by Jean-François Millet, “We cannot force someone to listen to a message they are not ready to receive. But we must never underestimate the power of planting a seed.” What quickly stood out to me when seeing this quote was how we always like to say "I wish so-and-so was here for this class, they really need it." I'm not judging, I've s...

Kevin Housley joins me today for a conversation full of noteworthy thoughts and takeaways. Kevin is the creator of Firefighter Craftsmanship and is working on his Masters in Sports Psychology. I honestly took more notes during this conversation than I ever have while trying to host at the same time. Among other topics Kevin explains the Self Determination Theory (SDT) and gives insight on how fire...

Today I would like to share one of the many invaluable lessons that I have learned through my leadership trials and errors. The lesson is that having the goal or vision that you are wanting to pursue and getting started in that general direction is way more important than having all the details of the journey figured out before we start. Sometimes we as leaders don't know all the right answer...

Today I am going to elaborate a little more on a recent post that I feel is very important for leadership right now. The post is adapted from a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quote in which gives us some very important questions to reflect on. For those in leadership roles and especially those who are making big decisions for crews and departments we have to ask ourselves when we are faced with choice...

I always love having conversations with people that I already consider to be good friends and for this episode I was blessed to have 2 of those people with me. Joining me for this episode are Justin Mann and Ljay Geist. Both of these guys are not only great firefighters but are outstanding human beings as well and they are doing some really great things for the fire service. In this episode we hav...

I strongly believe that one of the most important mindsets that we can adopt is a growth mindset and pursue that growth daily. However, are we really getting the full benefit of that investment? If we aren't focusing that growth where we need it most we may not be. Today we will talk about focusing in on getting the most out of our daily growth and how we can increase our effectiveness with i...

It's always a fun time when I get to record a conversation with a friend and that's what I had the opportunity to do in today's episode with guest Mitch Huner. Mitch has used his passion and knowledge for fire service tools to create Fire Maul Tools, a company that lives out their tagline of "Innovative Solutions".  I enjoyed using this opportunity to not only learn about...