What happens when the career you’ve worked toward is no longer the best fit for the life you’re building?

Tim Fralick grew up in basketball gyms, played college basketball, worked his way into coaching, and built a successful varsity boys basketball program at Ashland High School. Then he and his wife, Robyn, faced a consequential family decision as her coaching career advanced. Tim stepped away from being a head coach—a role he loved—and began discovering what life and leadership might look like on a different sideline.

In this conversation, Tim and I talk about his upbringing, what coaching taught him, the sacrifices spouses make for one another, and why a good decision can still be difficult for your identity. We also explore parenting, mentors, and the purpose he’s found today through Be Transformed Basketball and developing young players.

Tim is the husband of Michigan State women’s basketball head coach Robyn Fralick, but this is his own story about work, family, faith, and calling.

Your work matters, but it doesn’t define who you are.

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Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call.

Long before Jeremy Harrison became the founder of OneTable Strategy and author of Be the Wayfinder, he was a kid learning about risk, responsibility, and decision-making on his family's Ohio farm. He would go on to start a business in a spare bedroom, build a team, and discover that being a leader sometimes means letting go of control.

Jeremy and I have known each other for years through church, music, and family friendships. In this conversation, we talk about entrepreneurship, the tension between work and identity, finding a calling in everyday work, and how AI is changing what we ask of human leaders.

We also discuss the story behind his upcoming book and how the loss of his son profoundly changed his perspective on leadership, legacy, and what matters most. Jeremy shares the role his team played during that difficult season and the meaning he hopes readers find in his work.

It's a conversation about navigating change without losing the human side of work—and remembering that your title isn't your identity.

Learn about Jeremy's book, Be the Wayfinder (November 2026): https://www.onetablestrategy.com/book/
Learn about Jeremy: https://www.jeremyharrison.com/

Your work matters, but it doesn't define who you are.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call.

When Keith Ramsdell was studying theater, becoming the president of a national higher education organization wasn't exactly the plan. But theater, admissions, church ministry, and university leadership each shaped what he now understands about calling and purpose.

In this conversation, Keith and I look beyond career titles to talk about servant leadership, imposter syndrome, mentorship, listening before leading, and why the most meaningful part of a job might be the people it allows us to encourage.

We also explore whether college is worth it, the value of Christian higher education, and the difference between professional success and a life of service.

Keith serves as president of NACCAP, the North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals, and is a former colleague and friend from Ashland University.

Your work matters, but it doesn't define who you are.

Learn more about NACCAP: https://www.naccap.org/

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call.

What happens when the title gets bigger, the stakes get higher and more people begin judging you by the outcome?

Michigan State head women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick joins Davis Wells to talk about building a successful career without allowing the career to become your identity.

Robyn shares the journey from Davidson to assistant coaching, a formative decade at Ashland University, rebuilding Bowling Green and eventually returning to her hometown area to lead Michigan State.

Along the way, she explains why working for good people can be a career-changer, what Hall of Fame coach Sue Ramsey taught her about leadership, how different it is to run a program instead of simply coach, and why the people around a leader matter so much.

They also explore the Bowling Green turnaround from last place to first, lessons from USA Basketball, the isolation that can accompany leadership, life with her husband Tim and their family, coaching as a calling, faith, competition, patience and the difficult work of separating outcomes from identity.

Robyn puts the heart of the conversation simply:

“It’s what we do. It’s not who we are.”

Plus, Larry David vs. Ted Lasso, Caller ID word association, and a terrific answer about what 18-year-old Robyn might tell her today.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call.

When Success Isn’t Enough: My Call with Jerry Cowley

Jerry Cowley looked successful from the outside—moving up professionally, checking the boxes, and building a strong career. But as he shares in this conversation, outward success and inner fulfillment are not always the same thing.

In this episode, Jerry and I talk about career pivots, identity, ego, family, entrepreneurship, teaching, retirement, and what it means to build a life that is not defined only by work. From being recruited off a baseball field into the painting trade, to corporate life, education, coaching, and eventually building a successful business of his own, Jerry’s story is really about learning what matters most.

If you’ve ever felt the tension between doing well and actually feeling fulfilled, this conversation is for you.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call.

In this episode, I talk through how AI can be an asset, not a liability, when it comes to career. I have a few practical suggestions as to how to incorporate it to help us eliminate some of the thorns in our way.

Can AI help us to flourish in some way? I talk about Nick Bostrom's pendulum swing from Armageddon to Utopia in his books SuperIntelligence and Deep Utopia.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call.

Success doesn't always mean moving on to the next big thing—sometimes success means staying.

On this episode of Caller ID, Brandon Davis Wells is joined by Dusty Sloan, Director of Athletic Communications at Ashland University. Dusty reflects on his 30-year career in sports journalism, navigating the non-linear path from pro football writer to Domino's driver to AU leader, and how faith and community have guided his decision to remain rooted in his hometown.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call.

In this episode of Caller ID, B. Davis Wells talks with his friend and former bandmate Mike Parker about identity, calling, and the career shifts that followed a difficult season. Mike traces his path from studying business to nearly 20 years in youth and pastoral ministry, describing how being labeled “pastor” changed relationships and intensified imposter feelings. He shares how pressure to appear calm left him carrying unprocessed emotions until repeated personal and professional brokenness led to anxiety, panic, and his body shutting down, and how learning to process grief and lament became essential. Mike explains his transition into real estate—drawn by business interest and relational “ministry of presence”—and the stress of commission work, his resistance to “salesy” tactics, a grounding personal mantra, and his focus on family, balance, rest, and helping his kids know they’re loved.

00:00 Emotional Weight in Ministry

01:46 Show Intro and Guest Setup

03:53 Meeting Through Music

05:01 Career Arc in 90 Seconds

06:24 Pastor Life and Imposter Syndrome

10:31 Rethinking Calling Beyond Ministry

14:04 Personal Mantra for Anxiety

19:01 Mindfulness and Grounding Rituals

20:31 Pressure to Appear Calm

24:24 Why Real Estate

25:18 House Flips and Crash

25:58 Why Real Estate Fit

26:52 Commission Rollercoaster

29:06 Building Consistent Business

30:24 Selling Without Sleaze

33:10 Ministry Skills in Realty

34:12 Marriage Through Uncertainty

35:24 Ted Lasso vs Larry David

40:28 Presence and Success

43:54 Fatherhood and Love

45:26 Advice to Younger Self

47:18 Closing Reflections

Support the show

Thanks for listening to Caller ID.

You can follow Caller ID wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you’re enjoying the show, a quick rating or review helps more people find it.

New episodes drop weekly, featuring conversations with people across disciplines who are thoughtful about their work and honest about the cost of doing it well.

I’m Brandon Davis Wells and thanks for answering the call.