Narrative Podcast

"You're gonna be defeated." Maybe this wasn't a struggle for Kelley Tyan when she was younger but it really played a role in her adult life. In her younger years, Kelley watched her mom struggle with rheumatoid arthritis.  She saw her mom rely on her faith, push through pain, and show up.  Kelly knew she could too.  But as she got older and bad things happened and she started playing the compariso...

When you grow up around successful people and your friends are highly successful, you see their glamorous lifestyle.  You start to think things matter. The car. The house. The trips. The impact. That's what Ian Garlic used to think, in order to have great impact you have to have great wealth! Until one day he realized, he'd rather enjoy the journey than worry about the ultimate conquest which woul...

Somehow Dr. Sara Whedon established a picture of perfection that she strived for daily. Around age 16 she knew she could not keep up this perfect life. In her 20’s, she questioned “When did I start thinking ‘I should be ___ by now’”? But she couldn’t figure out how to let it go of the norms she believed and what a perfect life looked like. But when her mom was diagnosed with cancer she had to fall...

Through the eyes of a child, Lynn Catalno compared her parents to Ward and June Clever.  But at 12, she realized something was off about her father and his behavior.  Her mother was an enabler and enabled him to act like a narcissist. Lynn finally addressed how she felt about her father, as an adult.  She had such clarity over what had happened. She decided for herself that she had value and deser...

"I spent so long not doing anything, I didn't learn how to do anything!" Travis Curnutte, our guest today, shared this realization.  This became clear to him as he knew he needed a course correction in his career and life.  Travis grew up with a successful father and he knew he wanted to be in business one day too despite having Tourretts.   Many years later, Travis was in business just not the te...

What do you do when you grew up in a conservative Christian home? You are taught to follow the rules.  You watch and respect your elders.  When Becky went to church functions she'd see all the women being of service in the kitchen.  Naturally, she thought she was supposed to serve in this way too. That didn't sit well with Becky.  She knew what she believed but for some reason felt there was a nee...

Coooome-a, Come-a, Come-a, Come-a, Come-a, Chameleon...Alex Pauls growing up felt like he had to behave like a chameleon and fit in.  He finally had enough and decided to be OK with who he was, regardless of his desire to have everyone like him.  He found the spark of "I'm special" again he felt when he was 3 or 4 years old. Alex worked on himself and became "The Character." Not choose the charact...

Discover the journey of Tucker Nielsen, a young computer science master's student at Michigan Tech, as he shares the power of embracing his uniqueness. At 15 he was diagnosed with a form of autism called pervasive developmental disorder.  Tucker recounts his transformative journey from uncertainty to clarity. Tucker harnessed his superpower of intense focus and empathy. From battling depression an...

A pension? Who gets a pension these days?  But when Erika Andresen was a child she heard her parents talk about them.  She just assumed she'd follow in their footsteps until she went to tour a college with her sister.  At 10 years old Erika changed her path.  Erika was determined to get into NYU! She did get there.  She did graduate.  But she has learned along the way how to reinvent herself.  She...

Do you switch masks depending on what group of people you are around? Larado Bulkley found him in this situation but it was to manipulate.  There was so much dysfunction at home.  Larado needed a way to get his needs met.  He shared manipulation in school, marriage, and home.  He didn't care who he hurt.  He remembers caring more about animals than people at this time in his life, so to hurt them...

Chase Winslow grew up in an extremely poor family. At 13, his family began falling apart, which made him turn to drugs to escape from his problems. After high school, he got an exhausting job which fueled his drug use even more. He ended up quitting his job to sell drugs, but with a twist of fate, he met his wife, and slowly things changed. Funny how a baby on the way makes you rethink life. He be...

Find out how David Guyor crafted his own narrative by making a DRASTIC change from the false narrative about I will never be invited into the company of other men to a reality where he is actually doing the inviting of other men to come into his company/presence. A genuine dreamer since early childhood, and an idealist by temperament, David was both the person who once said God, I never hear from...

Andrew Dibble shared his life’s story full of twists and turns, life-changing events, and personal development. Growing up, he developed a strong relationship with his grandmother, whom he lived with, by helping her at the farm. At 17, with military lineage in his family, he joined the Marine Corps. After spending 8 years as a Marine, he decided to quit, which is when life first hit him hard. He s...

Hang on tight for a vulnerable tale of perseverance.  When the discussion starts with Keith Kalfas accounting he has had 32 homes (one being his car for 3 months), attended 14 schools, more cars than you can count, and multiple jobs (some seasons working 94 hours), you know you will walk away learning one of his many lessons learned so far! Keith's mom was single, manic, and struggled with drugs. ...

“Everything is a gift or an opportunity”…But Evan Mestman didn’t always think this way! Evan was a sickly child and didn’t think he was deserving of love. He regularly saw a chiropractor that poured into him. She was speaking into him, non directly, words of love, support, and encouragement! The faith she shared with him broke down all the walls he’d built up. He looks back and can see how much lo...

When you grow up in small-town Iowa, you don't realize how big the world really is.  As Tiffany Mason grew up she watched her mom and observed her being a good mom and wife.  Like a lot of us, we think we'll grow up to be similar to our parents.  Tiffany learned her lot if life was to be a supportive mom and wife.  Until a few years ago, that's what Tiffany did.  Her husband was successful and was...

God has a funny way of slowing you down when you won't! Analisa Woods shared how she was a responsible second oldest sister, growing up in a family with 7 children.  She got things done.  As she got older she started to believe that if it was going to get done she had to do it, from previous experiences.  Analisa was always busy completing to-do lists that others ideally should have been helping t...

Screaming your wife's name, dripping sweat, after waking up from a nightmare!  This was where my guest Tim Woods found himself after hearing from, what he believed was God, saying "You've been taught right from wrong, and if you died now, you'd be here, in hell!" You don't know what you don't know.  Or you only know what you are taught, right? Tim was raised in a Christian home being taught the "r...

Wes Grant’s life was a rough start. He had a single mom who married into an abusive marriage. Wes experienced abuse too. Soon, Wes found himself hanging around with the wrong crowd doing the wrong things. Wes’s story is that of falling in and out of trouble. When he felt he had hit his lowest point, in Nicaragua, his old friend Luke offered him somewhere to stay and food in his belly. On his first...

After Kathleen was adopted, she learned to pretend everything was ok. Who did she learn this from? Her mom, as she put Kathleen in ice skating even though they couldn’t even pay their bills. Then Kathleen lost her dad and pain set in. She found herself turning to drugs for the second time. See Kathleen had learned the game of pretending everything was ok all the while it was a mess under the surfa...

Many people also believe the false narrative of "Go to college so you can be successful!" Ian quickly realized this wasn't HIS path. Ian opened the Iron Pig in MI to start the path of entrepreneurship. When the pandemic hit, his curiosity to challenge authority and government gave way. Ian felt it was important to take a stance, be honest about it, and keep money flowing during the pandemic, going...

Tim Croll grew up in a legalistic Baptist home. He was put in charge of his younger siblings.  This made Tim feel responsible for all his sibling's safety and their actions. "I have to take care of everyone."  Through empty promises from his parents, he too learned he couldn't trust anyone. As an adult, Tim followed the other false narrative of "Just get a job and everything will be ok." But it wa...

Once Corey Samz had earned his way into the Magnet Program in high school (he was selected due to his artistic talent) a teacher shared with Corey that if he didn't get out of his own way, he'd never see his potential. When his employer, whom he was loyal to, despite others saying he could do more, laid him off, Corey realized his potential.  This was an open door to explore and his wife supported...

As Steve watched his dad growing up he absorbed two narratives.  First, if you work hard you will get promoted. And the other was that your career was your identity.  When life didn't seem to be playing by those rules, Steve took note.  He decided to change his narrative.  He would not be defined by his career.  Everything was there for the taking. He also found the value of an infrastructure of h...

Co-Hosts Tim Croll and Steve Gohl are excited to bring this podcast to you about real people, real struggles, and real victories!  Tim and Steve started to ask "What if?" Through authentic conversations with others, Tim and Steve got to know them. Tim and Steve share their stories and heard others' stories. Now they do life with these people and know it's a safe space to vent, troubleshoot, and ce...