Intentional Leader with Cal Walters

On this episode, Cal shares a story from his days playing college football and contrasts that story with a NFL Hall of Fame player.  You never know when opportunities will come, so the preparation you do today makes all the difference.  

As long as we live a life focused on ourselves, we will never be truly fulfilled.  It is counter intuitive, but the more we give of ourselves, the more we get.  As we seek to live a more intentional live, living a life that matters and contributes to the world and others is fundamental.   On this episode, Cal shares his own story of service, some anecdotal and empirical examples of service leading...

We all fail; we all fail often; and we all will continue to fail for the rest of our life.  Yet, many of us tip toe through life trying to avoid failure at all costs.  On this episode, Cal offers 4 principles to maintaining a healthy view of failure and using the gift of failure to propel us forward towards achieving success and maximizing our potential. Focus on success instead of "not failing" V...

The mind is a powerful thing.  To accomplish something, we have to first believe it can be done.   To maintain a healthy self-identity, we have to be careful about the words we tell ourselves and the people we allow to speak into our life.   On this episode, Cal discusses the power of self-belief and provides 3 key principles to maintaining a healthy self-identity.   Who do you say that you are? W...

If we want to reach our full potential and make a significant contribution to the world, we have to move beyond good intentions and begin to live intentionally.   On this episode, Cal explores two keys to intentional living:  1. Making a life mission; and 2. Developing a plan for personal growth.  

On this episode, Cal continues a two-part discussion on the importance of courageous leadership.  Cal builds on the leadership principles discussed in Episode 8 by sharing three principles of courageous leadership: 1.  Courageous leadership intentionally confront current reality, even when it's ugly; 2.  Courageous leaders confront their own blind spots; and 3.  Courageous leaders set clear expect...

Acts of courage are often what makes a leader a leader.  We know this instinctively, yet courage is easier to talk about than it is to put into practice.   On this episode, Cal begins the first part of a two-part discussion about courageous leadership and shares his first two principles of courageous leadership: 1.  Courageous leaders champion change; and 2.  Courageous leaders take action and are...

When we think of courage, we often think of giant figures that have changed the world -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Soldiers on the battlefield -- but courage is required of all of us if we want to achieve our potential and live the life we are called to live.   In this episode, Cal passionately discusses 5 principles to live a life of courage and to overcome the fear that so often...

On this Episode, Cal discusses the power of kindness to have a positive impact on our sphere of influence.   A small act of kindness can change the course of someone's day, pull someone out of a difficult place, change someone's view of themselves, and has the potential to alter someone's life for the better.   After reflecting on the power of kindness, Cal reflects on his observations of kindness...

We all want to be happy, yet we engage in behavior that undermines our own happiness.  One of the biggest ways we do this is by comparing ourselves to others.   In this episode, Cal explores the dangers of unhealthy comparison and shares a mental "battle drill" for dealing with our tendency to engage in comparison.  By applying this mental battle drill, we can protect our happiness, celebrate the...

When we listen well, we meet a fundamental need in people to feel understood and affirmed.  Yet, so often we don't focus on being good listeners and forget the principle of seeking first to understand before we seek to be understood. In this episode, Cal focuses on two key principles to being a great listener, and he asks listeners to commit to being better listeners.  Let's commit to this princip...

In this Episode, Cal shares a valuable lesson he learned in US Army Ranger School.  He talks about an important quality that many, if not most, great leaders have.  And that is the ability to remain calm under pressure – the ability to appear unflappable, to not be overcome with emotion, to not allow the outside pressures and circumstances – no matter how negative or dire they may be – to get the...

You cannot overstate the importance of being a great father.  Yet, there are many things competing for our time and attention, and it's not always easy to focus on what is most important.  In this episode, we explore three ways to make sure we maximize our time as fathers and make a lasting impact on our children.  It starts with keeping a long term perspective, learning to say "no" to things that...

Starting off your day the right way is key to making the day count.  And making each day count leads to a more fulfilled life, increased influence, and achieving your goals.  In this episode, Cal provides a brief introduction of himself, his motivation for starting this podcast, and 3 keys for starting the day off right!