Summit After the Storm | Leadership, Faith and Resilience Podcast

If you try to rush Kilimanjaro… you can die. In Episode 106 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on burnout, emotional exhaustion, nonstop modern life, and one of the most important lessons taught on Kilimanjaro: “Pole pole.” Slowly, slowly. Originally spoken by lead guide Baha, “pole pole” is more than a mountain phrase — it’s survival wisdom. Because on Kilimanjaro, rushing can lead to alti...

Some of the biggest moments in life begin with interruptions. In Episode 105 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on unexpected changes, redirected plans, divine timing, and how one last-minute business decision completely changed the course of his life. What initially felt like a frustrating work interruption… required Bart to leave Houston early and return to Memphis… where he ended up sitt...

Modern culture tells people success looks like: money… titles… recognition… followers… achievement… But why do so many outwardly successful people still feel empty? In Episode 104 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on the difference between accomplishment and fulfillment, the hidden cost of chasing modern success, and why many people spend years climbing ladders leaning against the wrong wa...

Years ago… people could disappear for weeks without communication… and nobody assumed something was wrong. Today? If someone doesn’t text back for a few hours, people panic. In Episode 103 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on modern distraction, digital overload, anxiety, overstimulation, and why peace feels increasingly difficult to find in today’s world. From nonstop notifications… to en...

Sometimes hardship doesn’t just test people… it strips them down to what’s real. In Episode 102 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on fear, survival, faith, mortality, and the moments in life that expose what truly matters. From nearly dying lost in the Grand Canyon decades ago… to surviving the storm on Kilimanjaro years later… this episode explores how suffering removes distractions and r...

No matter how far you’ve climbed in life… eventually another climb begins. In Episode 101 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on life transitions, starting over after divorce, fear, healing, vulnerability, and the courage required to begin again after painful seasons. Recorded from Europe, this episode explores the emotional reality of rebuilding life after heartbreak and discovering that so...

Your kids probably won’t remember most of the things you bought them. But they will remember how you made them feel. In Episode 100 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on parenting, regret, family memories, love, presence, and the moments children carry with them long after childhood ends. As the family prepares for Europe… and the reality of older children approaching adulthood becomes more...

Most people don’t realize how small their world has become… until they finally step outside their routine. summitafterstorm.com In Episode 99 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on travel, perspective, family connection, and how routines can slowly shrink wonder, curiosity, emotional growth, and gratitude. From walking through Paris, Munich, Venice, Florence, and Rome with both sides of the...

Sometimes life changes quietly… before it changes visibly. In Episode 98 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on the emotional tension of transition seasons — those moments when life still looks ordinary on the outside, but internally you know change is coming. As the family prepares for Europe… and Reagan and Molly prepare to enter their senior year of high school… a deeper realization begin...

I showed up to a freezing cold triathlon wearing normal swim trunks… with a Walmart-special Huffy mountain bike… completely unprepared for what was coming. And somehow… that became one of the most important lessons of my life. In Episode 96 of The Summit After the Storm Podcast , Bart reflects on why human beings need mountains, challenges, discomfort, adventure, and experiences that wake us back...

Some sacrifices last a moment. Some sacrifices last a lifetime. And some sacrifices echo for generations. In this Memorial Day episode of The Summit After the Storm Podcast , Bart reflects on sacrifice, gratitude, family legacy, and the unseen cost of freedom. From childhood memories… to a framed WWII memorial certificate hanging in his home… to learning later in life that his grandfather received...

One of the most vivid memories I have from the Grand Canyon… is watching my friend throw his camera into the desert because he physically couldn’t carry it anymore. In Episode 95 of The Summit After the Storm Podcast , Bart reflects on a dangerous 1999 Grand Canyon trip where lost supplies, 120-degree heat, dehydration, and exhaustion stripped life down to survival. And somewhere between packing f...

Yesterday morning… I went from helping a stranger at Walmart… to needing help myself less than twenty minutes later. And somewhere in between… I started thinking about how much the world has changed. There was a time when asking strangers for directions was normal. Now many people feel embarrassed to ask for help at all. In Episode 94 of The Summit After the Storm Podcast , Bart reflects on kindne...

Last night I started packing for Europe… and accidentally found a part of myself I thought I had lost. For months, every once in a while, I’d look through drawers and closets trying to find clothes I was convinced had disappeared somewhere along the way. Then suddenly… I found them all zipped inside old compression packing organizers sitting in the back of my closet. A Masters shirt. Favorite work...

Last night felt different. For the first Monday night in months… there was nowhere I needed to be. No lineup to build. No stats to analyze. No field to rush to. No game plan to prepare. And strangely… I realized I already missed it. In Episode 92 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on the emotional ending of baseball season, the unexpected relationships built through coaching, and why some p...

Before the playoff game even started… I brought a huge cooler full of ice and water because I believed we’d still be playing Monday night in the championship game. We didn’t make it. But that’s not the part I can’t stop thinking about. In Episode 91 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on youth baseball, leadership, belief, disappointment, and why great leaders often believe in people before...

Everyone expected us to lose. We were the 5 seed facing the #1 team in the league. And after falling behind 5–0 early… even our own players started believing the game was over. But then something changed. In Episode 90 of Summit After the Storm , Bart shares the emotional rollercoaster of a dramatic 13–13 tie against the best team in the league and the leadership lesson hidden inside it: Sometimes...

I almost checked my son out of school early for baseball practice. And honestly… it turned into a much bigger conversation about childhood, parenting, memories, and what really matters years later. In Episode 89 of Summit After the Storm , Bart shares a story about balancing academics, dyslexia support, baseball, and family priorities after a local coach invited Noah, Rhys, and Skyler to a special...

A former player quit our baseball team a little over a week ago. Yesterday… I stayed at his school event just to tell him something simple: “I still care about you.” In Episode 88 of Summit After the Storm , Bart shares a deeply personal story about youth sports, anxiety, leadership, compassion, and why people need to know they matter beyond performance. After learning the quiet battle one young a...

Yesterday I discovered something I never expected. 35% of Summit After the Storm listeners are from Japan. And across all podcast platforms, ~45% of this audience is from Asia. Honestly… it stunned me. This podcast started as simple stories about storms, mountains, leadership, faith, resilience, family, and the lessons I learned climbing Kilimanjaro. And somehow… those stories traveled halfway acr...

We were three outs away from winning. Up 6–4. Then everything unraveled. Routine mistakes. Missed fundamentals. Carelessness under pressure. In Episode 87 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on a heartbreaking 8–7 baseball loss that became a deeper lesson about leadership, discipline, focus, and life in the valley between the summits. Because most failures in life don’t begin with catastroph...

We celebrate the milestones. 21 30 40 50 But what about everything in between? In Episode 86 of Summit After the Storm , Bart reflects on Mother’s Day, celebrating his mom, helping host a hilarious 40th birthday party, and the realization that life is mostly lived in the valley between the summits. The laughter. The memories. The people around the table. Too often we become so focused on achieveme...

Down 8–7 in the final inning. Time expired. One run ties it. Two runs wins it. In one of the most intense youth baseball endings I’ve ever coached, everything came down to pressure, trust, split-second decisions, and the courage to commit before certainty arrived. After Noah steals home to tie the game, Asa takes over with a clutch single, steals second, steals third, and stands ninety feet away f...

I opened the dryer yesterday… and a lot of clothes were ruined. Yesterday started strong. I got in a hard workout. Pushed myself. Stayed disciplined. Trying to keep moving toward my fitness goals. Then I came inside… and found a purple ink pen in the dryer. And immediately… I knew. Something had gone very wrong. One by one… I started pulling clothes out. Purple ink everywhere. Shirts. Shorts. Laun...

I cancelled practice last night. And the truth is… we needed it. We had a kid quit the team after the first game Thursday. We’re still figuring things out. We need the reps. We need the time together. And this week? Practice matters. But it rained all day. The fields never officially closed… so we could have practiced. But I knew what it would be. A mess. Parents forced to decide. Kids slipping in...