Higher Leading with Jay Meyer

Send us Fan Mail In this inspiring episode of the Higher Leading Podcast , Jay sits down with Heather, founder and CEO of Pink Ribbon Good (PRG), to explore how faith, personal loss, and a heart for serving others grew into a $13 million nonprofit impacting cancer patients and families across the country. Heather shares how the death of a young mother from breast cancer led to the adoption of her...

Reflection As National Recovery Month comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about what nearly four decades of recovery have taught me and summarized it in this podcast. Recovery is an ever-evolving process that involves a focus on what I consider the four keys to recovery: Give Up. Clean Up. Grow Up. Live Up. Give Up. Recovery begins with surrender. I had to stop trying to run the whole show and ad...

What does it actually mean to live ready? In this episode, we unpack a simple but life-changing acrostic — R.E.A.D.Y. — that captures what it looks like to walk in daily faithfulness: R elinquish your self-will, E mbrace obedience, A ttend to others, D well on eternity, and Y ield your gifts to purpose. Drawing on Scripture and voices like C.S. Lewis, Oswald Chambers, Mother Teresa, and John Piper...

Every once in a while, you sit down with someone who reminds you what resilience really looks like. That's exactly what happened when I had the privilege of talking with my former Ohio Northern University teammate, Mark Ouwerkerk. Kerk's story is extraordinary. He served our country in the Navy, survived a helicopter crash near the Strait of Hormuz, has lived with lymphoma for more than...

In Episode 57 of the Higher Leading Podcast, Jay Meyer explores the powerful truth that God isn't finished with you yet.  Using the simple yet life-changing framework of N.E.X.T.—Name your THERE, Empty your backpack, Cross out the lies, and Take the next faithful step—Jay combines Scripture, personal stories, recovery, leadership, and life's hard-earned lessons to encourage anyone who fe...

The world feels heavy right now. Anxiety is loud, joy is scarce, and most of us are carrying burdens we were never meant to hold. But what if living lightly — with deep, contagious, bone-level joy — isn't as far away as it feels? In this episode, host Jay Meyer records from the peaceful setting of Serenity Acres outside Covington, Ohio, and delivers his five-pillar Joy Formula: Pray a lot. Mo...

What if the same principles that build a thriving organization could also transform your home? In this episode of Higher Leading , we take a deep dive into what it truly means to build a great culture—at work and around your kitchen table. Culture doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built on purpose. It starts with knowing your True North —the guiding beliefs that shape decisions, behaviors, and prio...

In this episode of the Higher Leading Podcast , host Jay Meyer delivers a powerful Chalk Talk on one of the most persistent obstacles in life and leadership: fear . Drawing from his 2026 Lenten writing series on EagleLaunch , Jay explores the many ways fear quietly shapes our decisions—fear of losing control, financial insecurity, the unknown, change, rejection, aging, and the future. Through pers...

Mental toughness isn’t about being hard—it’s about being faithful. In this Chalk Talk, Jay unpacks mental toughness through the lens of faith, leadership, parenting, and life’s hardest seasons. Drawing from sports, sobriety, caregiving, and real-world leadership, he shares 6 practical keys to developing a resilient, focused, God-centered mind. You’ll learn how to clarify your purpose, control the...

Before you can lead anyone else, you have to lead yourself. In this episode, Jay unpacks a simple but powerful framework for personal leadership: CODE — Clarity, Ownership, Discipline, and Emotional Maturity . You’ll learn why clarity gives your life focus and direction, why ownership creates a victor's mentality, why discipline beats motivation, and why emotional maturity is the difference b...

🎙️ NEW EPISODE: The Power of Gratitude In a world that pulls our attention toward chaos and comparison, gratitude brings us back to what truly matters. In this episode, I share practical ways to build your “gratitude muscle,” real-life stories that shaped my perspective, and the faith-filled principles that help anchor the heart—especially in tough seasons. We talk about:  ✨ Why gratitude is a ch...

If your life has been drifting in the fog—unfocused, unmotivated, or weighed down—this episode will light a fire inside you.  Jay Meyer breaks down the 5G Clarity & Purpose Framework , a practical roadmap to realign your life with discipline, purpose, and God’s direction.  You’ll discover how to: Build a Gameplan that gives your life intentional direction Embrace the Grind required to move fro...

Sometimes the best way to hear God’s voice is to lace up your shoes and start walking.  Recently, I set out on a 6-hour Via Nova walk— Via Nova meaning “new path” or “new way.”  Each hour, I walked and paused to journal what I was hearing from God.  I asked Him to speak not only about my future but also about my past journey—the lessons, the blessings, my family, and the people who’ve shaped me al...

We all have something we know we need to change— So why do we resist it? In this powerful episode of the Higher Leading podcast, Jay Meyer breaks down:  The psychology behind fear  Faith-based truths about change  Practical steps to get unstuck  It’s time to stop circling the same mountain. The change starts now.  Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. #HigherLeading #Fai...

It's halftime in the year--and the perfect moment for a reset. In this "Chalk Talk" episode of the Higher Leading podcast, Jay Meyer dives deep into the power of FOCUS with a timely and transformative message built around his acrostic: F ind clarity in your purpose O wn your time and attention C ut out what doesn't move you forward U nleash your potential through action S impli...

" Grit is staying in the game when your body wants to quit and your soul whispers, ‘Not yet.’” Jay Meyer In this month's podcast, we are leaning into the kind of strength that doesn’t shout, but shows up. We’re talking about GRIT —that G rounded, R esilient, I ntentional, and T enacious spirit that keeps pressing forward when everything in you wants to quit. GRIT separates the good from...

In today’s world, social media and mainstream media have an uncanny ability to shape our thoughts, often in ways we don’t even realize. The constant stream of information, opinions, and curated content can subtly distort our perception of reality, making us feel like we’re always behind, lacking, or missing out. Algorithms feed us what is most engaging—not necessarily what is true or beneficial—cr...

Frederick Buechner once said, "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's hunger meet." Scott McGohan’s passion for helping others in recovery has led him to create One Morning , a business dedicated to providing support for those struggling with mental health challenges and substance use disorders in the workplace.  This initiative is a living...

Happy 2025! I hope it has started well for you. I'm kicking off the New Year with a chalk talk discussing the importance of building your life from the inside out. About four decades ago, I was living from the outside in and darn near lost it all, including my life. After finally reaching the bottom of my downhill journey of drug addiction and alcoholism, I started digging out, and the diggin...

I am blessed to have my friend Chris Sexton, the Executive Director of The Dayton Dream Center, with me today. Chris is a living example of what it means to be a servant leader. If you are interested in knowing more about or helping The Dayton Dream Center, check out their website, Dayton Dream Center .

I’m honored to have my cousin, Dr. Ashley Gearhardt, on the podcast today. Ashley is a professor at the University of Michigan (as a Buckeye, I try not to hold that against her), and she is also one of the world’s leading experts on food addiction. I was so surprised to learn from Ashley that by technical definition, the same percentage of people in the U.S. who are addicted to drugs and alcohol a...

It’s a special Father’s Day edition of Higher Leading! I’m joined today by my oldest (Jason) and youngest (Michelle) children, and we’re talking about all-the-things… what participating in college athletics taught them, how their lives and careers were affected by the pandemic, how having a special needs brother (our middle dude, Jordan) has helped shape their character and perspective on life… an...

This is the second episode of Higher Leading dedicated to bringing attention to and reducing the stigma around mental health. My guest today is John Jung, a licensed clinical counselor with over 50 years of professional experience. John’s wisdom and gentle voice have provided strength, guidance and comfort to me many times during our friendship, and I feel blessed to share just a bit of that exper...

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 out of every 5 adults in America experiences some sort of mental health illness every year. During this Mental Health Awareness month, I’m dedicating two episodes of Higher Leading to bringing much-needed attention to this growing epidemic.  My first guest, Tara Hagan, is a licensed clinical counselor, owner of Hagen Counseling Services and c...

If you ever needed proof that blind faith paired with passionate action can change the world, then I have it in spades for you today! Heather Salazar, CEO and President of Pink Ribbon Good (PRG), joins me on this episode to share her incredible story of showing up when God called and trusting His plan. It all started when Heather’s path crossed with another young mother struggling through breast c...