Who I Became

Wassim Dabboussi is a business strategist, motivational speaker, and performance and life coach. He was born in Lebanon and his family emigrated to Australia when he was 10. In today’s episode, we talk about how the change in culture affected his personal identity and caused him to develop unhealthy addictions which lead him to a “bigger than me why question” that question changed his mindset to n...

2020 was an interesting year, to say the least, but I got to release 23 impactful episodes of my podcast that educated, informed, or inspired others to lead a life of significance. This week I focus on some of the most impactful bits. Learn more about the people I mention Learn More About Simon https://linktr.ee/simonosamoh (https://linktr.ee/simonosamoh) Dan Blevins https://amzn.to/3aW60WJ (https...

The power of consistency part 2: I’m joined again by Dr. Samuel Ekundayo from Auckland New Zealand. In part one we discussed the adversity he had to overcome taking on his Ph. D. at just age 23. This week we focus on how to find purpose and the meaning of life. Dr. Samuel Ekundayo is a lecturer, TEDx speaker, performance coach, purpose preacher, and author of https://amzn.to/2JUZOmB (Arise and Suc...

On today’s episode, I’m excited to be joined by Dr. Samuel Ekundayo, who is a university lecturer, author, TEDx speaker, author of the books https://amzn.to/2JUZOmB (Arise and Succeed), https://amzn.to/340Xi55 (Purpose in Crisis), https://amzn.to/2W2Fdzs (Fired Up), and https://amzn.to/3qMH0GL (30 Reasons to Stay: Say No to Suicide and Give Life Another Try) and performance coach based in New Zeal...

We constantly face adversities. But when adversity turns into a full-blown crisis, are you and your organization prepared and confident enough to face it? Whether they admit it or not, most organizations are not crisis-ready. The generic crisis preparation plan most companies have wouldn’t work on the real battlefield. Thus, a clear-cut roadmap to business invincibility with the help of a reputati...

2020 has undoubtedly been one of the most challenging years of our lives. It felt as if the world was gleefully throwing curveball after curveball. Everything that has transpired this year has put many organizations in a difficult position. This is particularly true when it comes to handling crises. Thus, 2020 showed us how crucial crisis readiness is with someone like a reputation defender. Reput...

Gary Robinson has a unique story of transformation. When he was 11, his mother committed murder, and with an absent father and his mom’s poor life choices, there were few people in the family willing to take him in. At 13 years old, Gary considered himself dependent on alcohol and his life really spiraled out of control when at 15 he tried to commit suicide. He ended up living on the streets and s...

Lester Young was just 19 years old when he took someone’s life. Sentenced to serve a minimum of 20 years, Lester started to deal with his pain and reflect on the actions which led to his incarceration. With less than a 3% chance of parole, Lester started to transform himself to become a better person. Now released, Lester is the Executive Director and Founder of Path2Redemption and author of the h...

Kevin Haggerty describes himself as a patriot, single dad, entrepreneur, teacher, and pastor at a church in Florida.  After battling addiction in his late teens, Kevin went on to become a successful entrepreneur running his own business but found his financial success gave him more problems. He looked around one day and realized that he had let money become his master and had few real friends...

Experiencing discrimination is never pleasant. But, you can control how you respond to negative experiences. This week’s guest shows us that negative experiences don’t need to dictate your life’s trajectory. Instead, they can serve as springboards to bigger and better opportunities.  In this episode, Michael Rozin joins us to share his life’s journey and what led him to become an expert in se...

Ross Deuchar is an internationally renowned Criminologist and Professor of Criminology and former Fulbright Scholar working in the UK and America with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. He is the author of several highly acclaimed Criminology books. His most recent book Gangs and Spirituality (Palgrave MacMillan) examines the role of religion and spiritua...

Denise Koster has spent the last 30 years focused on violence prevention and is a graduate of the Gavin de Becker threat assessment academy. In today's episode, Denise shares her experiences working in the security field and how the death of one of her patients at the hand of domestic abuse changed her life trajectory.  Show Notes and Links  Learn More About Denise: https://kosterconsult...

America is often known as the land of the free. It is the country where many seek opportunities and build a better life despite their circumstances. That is one of the reasons why its people love their home country and remain good patriots. Many wars and battles were fought to attain this freedom. Today, many continue to advocate for it. Amidst the many controversies and issues that have come up i...

In the years that we live our lives, we take on different missions and touch the lives of many. We meet people who encourage us to keep going and help us succeed. But we also face difficulties and meet people who can cross our boundaries. That is what John Correia also experienced in his journey to becoming who he is now—a nationally known expert on self-defense and founder of Active Self Protecti...

CAUTION: Contains minor swearing. John “Weapon Snatcher” Carughi shot to fame during the civil unrest protests in Seattle following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Footage of him went viral when he was protecting a news crew during the riots. He saw a protester steal an AR15 from a nearby police car, so John took action, and his nickname “Weapon Snatcher” was born. In this episode, we lo...

Mike Scully was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a young child predicted by doctors to not grow past 5 feet. He overcame this adversity through prayer and a revolutionary new drug. Mike tackled adversity again two weeks after his wedding when he was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor. Doctors said he might not survive the surgery and Mike was forced to re-evaluate his life....

Dan Blevins is the creator and host of the successful podcast Church Security Through Prevention. In this episode of Who I Became he shares how a defining moment of transformation in his marriage changed him in a positive way as a husband, father, and Christian.     Who I Became Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhoIBecame/   Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3d52vKN ...

Jimmy Meeks is a minister, former police officer, and the founder of Sheepdog Seminars. Since 2009 Meeks and his associates, Lt Col Dave Grossman, Carl Chinn, and others have presented to over 40,000 people in over 45 States on safety and security in churches.   In today’s episode of “Who I Became”  Meeks shares some of his personal journey, including receiving a call when a police...

Two major events have shaped Jim Howard's life. In 1970, when he was just 16, his father shot and killed the Deacon of their church who was helping his family because of domestic violence issues. Then at 18 years old, Jim was carjacked and when asked to identify the suspect who had hidden out on a bus, he knew it was his calling to join the police.   Jim Howard is the Executive Director...

Jim McGuffey is the House of Worship Committee Chair for the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) which is the largest organization for security professionals worldwide and has more than 47 years of law enforcement experience. He has been interviewed on security events by CNN, ABC, New York Times, and other Canadian and US news media and publications. Jim is considered a global expert i...

James McGarvey is co-host of the Church Safety Guys, one of the largest groups on Facebook dedicated to church safety and security. In this episode of Who I Became James shares a serious accident that happened to his grandma when he was 11 years old, which shaped his 20-year volunteer career as a firefighter, EMS, and volunteer with the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. This sparked a passion t...

Paul Buckner is one of the co-hosts of the Church Safety Guys, one of the largest Facebook groups dedicated to church safety and security with thousands of followers. In this episode of Who I Became, Paul shares his journey from his humble beginnings of being raised in a small cabin in Missouri to becoming a police chaplain, company owner, and developing a desire to give back to others through lea...

Violence and crime, war and murder—there are many evils in the world. These can have physiological and psychological effects on those engaged in combat. This week’s guest sought to understand this in the early part of his career, resulting in a body of knowledge now known as killology but in the face of all this, he encourages us to believe in forces of good. Motivated by love, we are surrounded b...

Most of us don't think of a church as a dangerous place. However, no place is immune to outside threats; stores get robbed, and even schools deal with shooters. A church will face its share of attackers as well. To ensure our community's well-being, we all need to reevaluate our security systems and prepare for any attack. In today's episode, Carl Chinn explains how he left working in agriculture...

In 2017, a gunman claimed the lives of 26 people and injured 20 at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. Every second that passed at this moment was critical, and the good guy with a gun didn’t waste any time taking action. God called him to put a stop to this tragic event, and he obliged. In this episode, the “good guy with a gun,” Stephen Willeford, shares what led him to confront an a...