The Take A Step Podcast

In this episode of the Take A Step Podcast , Josh Johnston unpacks the powerful tension between purposeful suffering and meaningless comfort . Why do the hardest seasons often shape us the most, while the easiest paths leave us feeling empty? Drawing from Scripture, personal experience, and lessons learned through athletics and early career missteps, Josh challenges growth-minded men to rethink th...

What does it look like to build a solid foundation as a young man when you’re juggling performance, purpose, and faith? In this episode, Josh is joined again by John Szarszewski—along with special guests John Wilson and Garrett Miller with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)—for a real, wide-ranging conversation rooted in the world of college athletics and discipleship. They unpack what young m...

In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , we revisit The Weekly Mile titled “Know Who You Represent.” It’s a real conversation about why so many people reject faith… and how often it has less to do with Jesus and more to do with the way His followers live. The truth is uncomfortable but necessary: when our lives don’t match our words, people notice. Every habit, every decision, every reaction i...

In this episode of the Take A Step Podcast, Josh sits down with John Szarszewski for a raw, faith-centered conversation about purpose, pressure, and learning to love the process instead of chasing the destination. They unpack why success often still feels empty—even when you’re doing “all the right things”—and why so many men are carrying weight they were never meant to bear alone. From anxiety, l...

In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh breaks down one of the most popular—and most misleading—pieces of advice our generation has been given: “Just follow your passions.” Drawing from this week’s Weekly Mile edition, Josh explains why passion, while important, was never meant to be the foundation of your life. Passion fades. Feelings change. And when life gets hard (because it always d...

Send us a text In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh sits down with author and former professional baseball player Bob Wheatley to unpack Bob’s newest book, Single Minded —a refreshing and deeply biblical look at the true advantages found singleness. Bob shares the story of his transition out of professional baseball and how the Lord redirected his identity, calling, and purpose. From...

Send us a text In this episode, Josh tackles one of the most surprising and painful parts of growth: loneliness. There comes a moment in every man’s journey where he starts doing the hard work—breaking old patterns, raising his standards, getting serious about his faith—and suddenly realizes he feels more isolated than ever. Old friendships no longer fit. New ones haven’t formed yet. And the “in-b...

Send us a text In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast Josh and John sit down to discuss what it really looks like for young men to reject comfort, confront complacency, and pursue a life of purpose rooted in Christ. In this episode, they break down the reality that hard will always find you —and why trying to avoid challenge only leads to a deeper kind of struggle. Through personal stories and...

Send us a text In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , we’re going back to a question you probably haven’t thought about in a long time: “When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?” As kids, we dreamed in possibility—pro athlete, CEO, inventor, president. Somewhere along the way, though, most of us traded those bold dreams for what felt normal , safe , and acceptable . I...

Send us a text This week on The Take A Step Podcast , we’re bringing you something special. This episode isn’t recorded in a studio or across a Zoom call — it’s recorded around a  fire with 20 brothers who showed up, stepped up and completed the David Goggins 4x4x48 Challenge together at our men’s retreat last weekend. For 48 hours, we ran four miles every four hours. But what made the weekend pow...

Send us a text Goal setting—it’s one of those topics that either fires you up or makes you want to shut down. For some guys, goals represent possibility, purpose, and progress. For others, they bring up pressure, anxiety, or fear of failure. Why does the same word create such different reactions? In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh breaks down the real reason behind our mixed emotion...

Send us a text In this episode, Josh sits down with John Szarszewski — the newest partner of Take A Step — to talk about the mission to build future leaders grounded in faith, discipline, and purpose. Together, they unpack why so many young men today feel stuck, unmotivated, and disconnected from a greater calling — and how Take A Step exists to change that. Josh and John dive into the core proble...

Send us a text In this episode, Josh breaks down The 4 Steps of Leadership — a framework for becoming the kind of leader who builds others up rather than standing above them. Too many men chase leadership for status or recognition. But true leadership isn’t about control — it’s about calling others higher. Josh walks through four pivotal steps that every man must take if he wants to lead with purp...

Send us a text In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh sits down with Diesel David, founder of Diesel David, an automotive repair company that started when he was just sixteen—working out of the backseat of his 1990 Toyota Corolla. What began as a side hustle in a high school parking lot has become a thriving business built on faith, grit, and relentless learning. Josh and David dive dee...

Send us a text Welcome to The Take A Step Podcast — where faith-driven men come to reject complacency and take purposeful action every day. Hosted by Josh Johnston, founder of Take A Step , this show dives deep into what it really means to live with intention, discipline, and faith in today’s world. In this episode, Josh unpacks The Weekly Mile edition titled “The Routine Trap.” Routines have beco...

Send us a text At our most recent Take A Step Workshop, I had the privilege of sitting down with Tommy Newberry —NY Times bestselling author and one of the most sought-after coaches for high performers. For over 30 years, Tommy has worked with entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals who refuse to settle for mediocrity. In this conversation, he shares the consistent patterns he’s seen in those wh...

Send us a text In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh unpacks one of the most common myths we hear in personal development: work-life balance. The problem? Balance assumes we live two separate lives — one at work and one at home. That mindset pressures us to show up as two different people, constantly juggling and never feeling whole. Josh challenges this idea and introduces a healthier...

Send us a text In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , we bring you two powerful keynotes from our most recent Take A Step Workshop—messages that challenge us to reject complacency and live with purpose. First, you’ll hear from Boyce Buckner , a decorated Army leader with over 20 years of active-duty service. Boyce is also a leadership coach, a devoted husband and father, and a man of deep fa...

Send us a text In this special episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh shares his raw and authentic response to the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk. This is not just commentary—it’s a call to reflect deeply on the value of human life, the courage to stand boldly for what you believe in, and the responsibility to live with morality, ethics, and Christ-like integrity. Charlie wasn’t just a pu...

Send us a text Most people wait around for inspiration, hoping it will strike like lightning. But the truth? Real inspiration isn’t something you stumble into—it’s something you build . In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh unpacks what he calls the two essential ingredients of true inspiration: storytelling and proven action . First, you’ve got to tell a story powerful enough for othe...

Send us a text On this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh sits down with Connor Beecham to unpack how he built a thriving brand in the mortgage industry rooted in value, faith, and perseverance. Connor shares his journey of bootstrapping his way into the business, highlighting the grind, discipline, and faith it took to get started without shortcuts. He explains how consistently showing up...

Send us a text On this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh dives into The Weekly Mile edition: “Victim Mindset vs. Growth Mindset.” Too often, we default to blaming others when life doesn’t go our way. It feels easier to point the finger—it lifts the weight of responsibility off our shoulders. But here’s the problem: if it’s always someone else’s fault, then there’s nothing we can do to chan...

Send us a text In this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh sits down with Mason Newberry to unpack his journey from a life of complacency and living for the weekend to chasing—and conquering—some of the toughest endurance races on the planet. Just three years ago, Mason wasn’t a runner. Now, he’s completed multiple ultramarathons, including several 100-milers and the legendary Cocodona 250....

Send us a text In this edition of The Weekly Mile , Josh unpacks a trap many of us fall into—chasing “false summits.” We set our sights on milestones, believing fulfillment will meet us at the top. But when we finally arrive, it’s not what we expected. Either we reach the goal and still feel empty, or we fall short and discount the progress we made along the way. Josh challenges the belief that ou...

Send us a text On this episode of The Take A Step Podcast , Josh sits down with Daryl Roberts, founder of LIVE 2540—a nonprofit making a massive impact in Liberia by serving some of the world’s most vulnerable children. Daryl shares the powerful origin story of LIVE 2540, which began with a simple step of obedience and grew into an organization that now feeds, clothes, educates, and cares for thou...