Having come to America at the age of 8. Being raised in Springfield, MO. Then coming to Columbia, MO for university where we originally met. Today's guest Jack Jones is highly concerned that America is facing a slow, yet steady, loss of freedoms and liberty. His current focus is on ICE. He has a huge amount of life experience and a perspective that is undeniably worth taking into consideration. This was my first digital episode, and the audio issue comes from accidently having two Mics recording at the same time. As always, I have learned from this, will do better next time, and appreciate everyone's support during these early episodes of this adventure.

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Todays episode is packed with great stories. Though more importantly it sheds light on several very important facets of our system; with a plan to make them better. I met Allan Sharrock when he was the Lieutenant of 3rd platoon in C-company 110th Engineers. I was a Specialist (E4) in 1st platoon. This year we all met up and celebrated that tours 20yr anniversary. It has been a pleasure to catch up with the old crew and see what amazing things they have been up to since that deployment. Sharrock's current mission has to do with closing the skills gap and creating a new generation of outstanding shop teachers here in Missouri.

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I was honored to have local gym owner, Airforce veteran, entrepreneur, strong-man, power-lifter, and body-builder Luke Gabriel on the podcast for the first time today. I knew Luke would be a great episode because of the little I already knew about him. Though, like with all great stories, I could have never predicted the magnitude of his actual journey told in a raw and unfiltered form. I am extremely thankful to Luke for his willingness to be candid about all aspects of his process in becoming the incredible leader that he is today. I look forward to working with Luke more in the future.

Thank you all for following along during the early stages of this project.

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The man, the legend, Mark Short came by after training to record today's episode. Mark is a Veteran, a competitive Jiu Jitsu ultra-heavyweight, a coach, a father, and transitioned into the healthcare field after his service. We have a great conversation where Mark describes his journey and when he has drawn lines in his life which led him to this point in time. I highly appreciate Mark not only as a fantastic training partner, but as a friend.

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In this episode my cousin Mason Spurgeon joins me and gets into the weeds regarding everything to do with the Appraisal business. Mason is someone who favors "big talk" over "small talk". This fun and easy-going conversation is a wealth of information.

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During the Summer of 2024 I was in the middle of some major home renovations. Yet, when this episodes guest Coty Kellison traveled in to coach some classes for our gym I made time to have him over and record this fantastic episode. Now, months later, after finally getting back in a place to start publishing episodes again I was able to relisten to this one with fresh ears. What a fun and rewarding process this is!

thanks so much for following this journey! This episode is all about finding balance in this uncertain time. We talk martial arts, politics, religion, and more!

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Having trained for and conducted 100+ combat missions with someone creates a certain connection, a respect, a bond that allows them to relate to each other regardless of anything else. My good friend "Neus" and I linked up to record this episode almost directly 20 years after we volunteered to deploy on the tour did together. Its been a blessing catching up recently, and with any luck it looks like we will be able to continue on this trend. Essayons has always been the motto.

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Living an intentional life requires setting and working towards goals. Once we have made our intentions obvious it adds pressure. Todays guest understands this well, and Nicolas Arnel has made it his intention to win multiple jiu jitsu championships including adult black belt worlds.

It is important for us to consider the generational differences in our frame of reference. Within only the last few decades things have changed more than in the previous thousand years. Events that shaped our lives just land differently to others; often for totally understandable reasons like them simply having not been alive at the time. Which is why these conversations are so crucial.

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