Kevin Polky - The Journey

Shatter Our Silence, SOS was formed in 2016. Once a year, we have an annual fundraiser to raises resources for the awareness and educational campaigns. This past week was the 5th Annual SOS Fundraiser, and it was a success. Listen to this episode about the details on the event and SOS.

No Longer Why Did This Happen Xavier’s worst nightmare happened. Her son died from suicide over 7 years ago. Initially, asked why did this happen? Now she has discovered the journey of what she is going to do with her grief and pain. She is a mental health advocate, group leader and mental health first aid instructor. Now, she is hosting her first retreat for restoring and resilience. Go to www.to...

Screw City Uprising Listen to this episode on how Will has brought a cool event to the Rockford area on September 25th. This will be a substance-free event with skateboarding, live music, artists and vendors raising awareness of mental illness and substance abuse. Join us for this great event!

Turning Her Grief into Purpose Laura has had numerous struggles throughout her life. She thought all her dreams were going to come to true and then the most tragic thing happened, her son died from suicide. The pain and grief were beyond words. During her grief, she found purpose. Listen to this episode and what Laura has done with her grief to be the Light in others darkness. Be part of the solut...

It’s the start of the month in which we focus on increasing our awareness of suicide prevention. This episode is focused on the nonprofit I started 5 plus years ago and a handful of things I have learned during this part of the journey. Listen and be part of the solution to prevent suicide. Be a Light in others’ darkness.

Take a listen to this episode as I read a version of the original story that inspired the book “The Obstacle is the Way”. I share some insights and thoughts on how you can utilize this simple story in your everyday life. Enjoy!

Self-care is a term that is used quite bit at this time. You would think this term would be self-evident though the definition may be, but how to care for yourself may not be. Listen to this episode as I talk about the need to push ourselves out of our comfort zone with balancing when to pull back and be still to rest and rejuvenate. Enjoy!

In modern times it can be confusing to identify self-worth. A natural development indicator is what the people around mirror back to you. But this needs to be only one aspect of looking at what is your self-worth. Listen to this podcast as we breakdown some steps to discovering your self-worth.

In the midst of so much change over the past 16 months there has been pattern of overreaction and quick judgment. How do we pause to assess before we make a conclusion? Listen to this episode as I share thoughts about the ancient story about the Chinese farmer.

I continue to reflect on concepts from Ryan Holiday’s book “Stillness is the Key. Take a moment. Grab something to write with. And, put your thoughts down on paper. Listen to this episode about the multiple benefits of journaling.

I continue to reflect on concepts from Ryan Holiday’s book “Stillness is the Key. Take a moment. Grab something to write with. And, put your thoughts down on paper. Listen to this episode about the multiple benefits of journaling.

I am inviting you to listen to this episode as I reflected on a recent experience that occurred during a stillness moment. The ripple effect afterwards continues to multiple days afterwards. Enjoy this episode and share with someone who may need to hear this reflection.

Have you ever found yourself in situation where felt everything was coming down all around? This reflection about some easy steps on what to do when you are faced with an obstacle or a conflictual situation with another person.

Gratitude to my father for his sacrifices. Gratitude for the men who spoke into me either as a teacher, coach, or mentor. Grateful for being able to be a father. Enjoy and be grateful.

This reflection is on those moments you find an obstacle on your journey. I bring you through a breathing exercise and a tip for navigating through the obstacle. Enjoy!

A Biker Bringing Light in the Darkness Shawn Nisius is a young man who has a ton of energy and is driven to payback a friend who helped him during a time when he was struggling. Shawn loves working out, motorcycles and wants to make a difference regarding the perception of suicide. Listen to this episode as he shares his story of his struggle, along with the passion he has to raise awareness about...

Critics, it appears everyone has them. And the one in our head seems to be the loudest. This episode focuses on what we do with comments or feedback from others. Do we take others’ opinions and give it more weight than our own thoughts? Can we learn from others’ feedback and then let the criticism go and follow our dream?

Regardless of going on vacation, starting the educational process, or entering the life changing steps of counseling, the tendency is to focus on the endpoint then the process. It natural but what about the process of the journey. During this reflection I share my thoughts about the importance of embracing the journey and avoid the distraction of focusing only on arriving at the destination.

Carpe Diem, we have heard the saying numerous times as it has been used in movies and in songs in modern times. Carpe Diem means to seize the day. But what does that mean? As I reflected on the phrase, I thought of intention, mindfulness, and discipline. Take a listen and would love to hear what it means for you.

What is character? Does it matter? I believe it does. Listen to this episode as I attempt to explain what character is and why I believe it is important. What will you do on the abandoned country road? Take a listen.

During this Reflection on The Journey, I read the famous poem “Footprints in the Sand” and share some thoughts and insights into my own spiritual journey. Please share any thoughts that may be sparked by this episode.

The famous Robert Frost poem is what I utilize as central point of thought on this podcast. I share about the times I have taken the familiar path over the path less traveled. And those times when I have chosen the narrow path, what difference it made.

I constantly amazed in how there is opportunity for me to be taught by God about myself, spirituality, and others through nature. If I will just slow down and be present the teacher is always present. Take a listen to this reflection on how God taught me another lesson about myself.

We all have those stories or movies that move us. They not only impact us when we hear them, but they stick with us and continue to motivate and inspire us long after when we first heard the story. Check out this reflection on a message I recently heard.

Mindfulness what is it and how can I do it? It seems like for the longest time, I was trying to figure out how to be more mindful. During this episode, I share about my experience on a walk and what has helped me to be more mindful.