The Good Dude Podcast

A great conversation with MSgt Aleric Hebert, USAF, Religious Affairs (Not the Chaplain's Assistant ;). MSgt Hebert has a wonderful spirit and an infectious personality that serves him well in the role of supporting troops.

First, I apologize for the horrible quality of the recording. I wish it was clearer because the discussion was really good. Anyhow, it has been a great deployment with these crazy folks and we have all improved in Fitness, Life, and Friendship. Enjoy!!!

Got to sit down with a great leader from here in Kenya. Captain Jeff Sabatke is a US Army Infantry Company Commander in the Minnesota National Guard. He has some great insights on combining his military, civilian, and family experiences to be a better leader in all three. Enjoy!

Had a great conversation with three great Americans I get the pleasure to work with here in Kenya. The audio is a little sketchy and I apologize, but the content is fantastic. A lot of good discussion and interesting points of view. Enjoy!

After a long delay, finally getting back to Podcasts! Kind of a lot has happened since the last episode so I'm attempting to get everyone caught up on what's been happening.

Got to spend some quality time with the future of the USAF. Lord, help us all!! Just kidding. We talk about the benefits and drawbacks to each of the three main commissioning sources: AFA (Air Force Academy), ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps), and OTS (Officer Training School). We had a lot of fun and I hope yall enjoy hearing how today's young people decide to serve their country.

When everyone in the world is an expert, how do you know what to believe? Well, it is your responsibility to make that decision! It seems that credibility in media (social or otherwise) is severely on the decline and that is creating some interesting issues for everyone. In this episode, I discuss the issue with credibility and ways to help understand our role as the receiver. Enjoy!

Recently, a friend of mine had a tragedy in his family. If you would like to support the family, please donate to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ellis-family-contribution?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

Trying to find the bright side as much as possible. I'm also sharing some good things I've seen or done or whatever. Also, an update on my Chick-fil-a Fast!

This month's challenge was to read one Bible book per week and really focus on taking good notes and digesting what I could. It was an awesome experience that I would very much recommend. I read Genesis, Isaiah, James, and Revelations.

A Daniel Fast is a 21 day fast where you attempt to recreate the fast done by Daniel in the first chapter of the biblical book of (you guessed it!) Daniel. Essentially, you aren't supposed to eat any rich foods or drink wine. Here is the list of what you can't eat/drink: Meat, dairy, leavened bread, sugar (or artificial sweeteners), alcohol, or caffeine. Yes, I said NO CAFFEINE!!!!

It's the season of giving! I've been thinking a lot about what that means and I have all of the answers! Ok, I have no answers but I got a bunch more questions, so there's that. Anyhow, enjoy.

The '20 CrossFit Games Open just ended! Thank goodness!!!! It was a long 5 weeks of competition and self discovery. This episode I discuss the five lessons learned from the experience that are translatable to all parts of life. Put yourself in challenging situations to promote focus. Do things you don't "want" to do. Only through loss can you truly grow. Celebrate your victories. Success is consistency. Side Game: do 10 pushups everytime I say Buzzword! :)

All day, everyday. Got to put in the work to get better. Practice makes perfect. Etc. I think most people will agree that practice leads to enhanced performance. But there should be more intentionality (totally made that word up) than just putting in the reps.

September 11th, 2001. I have been thinking a lot about what I'm going to tell my kids about that day when they get old enough to ask. I want to tell them the truth about what happened and explain to them that when we were at our lowest point, our people were Heroes! We are a nation of Heroes and people capable of amazing and honorable acts, and that was revealed when we received a mighty blow from an enemy.

I got some great lessons in leadership from my rector, Father Rick Luoni. We talked about his amazing journey to priesthood and how he manages the spiritual needs of his congregation as well as the everyday needs of the church.

During my travels I have gleaned some amazing tidbits and nuggets of truth from the podcasts I have listened to. I just wanted to share some of that with yall. My people!

This week I sat down with a good buddy, Alfredo Mendez-Saldana, and we talked about "almost" being a Dad. His wife is probably minutes away from having their first child, so I wanted to find out what was going through his mind and how he was handling everything. Needless to say, he is much more prepared than I was!! We had a great conversation. I hope yall enjoy!

After an awesome time at my 20 year reunion, I was thinking a lot about success and what it means. I got a little "stream of consciousness" and I apologize if I got a little too far down a few rabbit holes. Anyhow, I enjoyed this intellectual exercise and was able to refocus my own thought process.

Well, it's my 20 Year High School Reunion!!! I'm super excited. I think it will be really fun, and I talk about some things that were crucial to life in 99 that don't even exist anymore. Enjoy!

Just a quick discussion about the writing process for my new book, Judges and Kings. It is a middle grade fiction that is based on the story lines from the Old Testament books Judges and Kings (creative title, I know). Anyhow, I have loved writing it and I'm super excited to share it with everyone, but I've got to navigate the editing waters and finish the illustrations before it's ready to go. Hopefully not too much longer now.

Season 2 has begun!!! I started this season the same way as I started the show, on Father's Day. This time, I talked to my kiddos (and one of their cats. Yup, you read that correctly). It was so much fun and I'm so happy to be a Dad!

It might seem like I'm being melodramatic, but the title is legit. And I don't mean he saves lives in the way that he makes people healthier and thereby helping them live longer and fuller lives (he does that too). Coach Lico actually saved a woman's life that he has never met! He became a bone marrow donor through an organization called Bethematch.com. This organization collects DNA samples from hundreds of thousands of people in order to find matches for people all over the world. Please take a minute and check them out. It is a great cause that can truly affect change in a person's life.

I had a great interview with my chief editor, and mother, Marianne Thomas. We had a great interview and I learned a lot of insightful things about my mom, and being a mom in general. Happy Mother's Day!!!

Have you ever done something so incredibly stupid that you have no choice but to announce it to the world and just deal with the firestorm of ridicule? Well welcome to my nightmare. Yup, it's that day. You're welcome.

This episode is all about being a young Engineer in today's world. I got a group of up and coming engineers and put them under the interrogation lights for a hard hitting interview that revealed the depths of their personalities! Actually, it kind of dissolved into them making fun of me, but what are you gonna do? Kids, am I right?

Yup, I said MERRY EASTER! I do what I want! ;) Just a quick little show about what I've been up to during the season of Lent and some other random Easter tidbits. Enjoy!

This week I asked for questions from the audience and got some very interesting responses! Thank you to everyone that asked things, and I apologize if I didn't get to them all. It was pretty funny and I had great time trying to come up with answers! Enjoy!

If you're a parent, you know how crazy that first pregnancy can be. Now imagine that the baby decides to show up in like half the time he's supposed to!!! Grant the Fifth was so excited to meet his parents that he just couldn't wait. I got to interview Grant the Fourth and hear all about how they made it through and how they are moving forward.

Well, I just crushed myself during the 2019 CrossFit Open, but I had an epiphany. If you're not challenging yourself, you're not getting any better. One step better every day!

I was able to interview the most attractive guest I've ever had on the show, Ashley Thomas. A short while ago I found an article about these 36 questions you were supposed to ask someone to develop a relationship, so I figured me and the missus would give them a go. It was pretty fun and a little awkward, but definitely worth the listen. Don't worry, we didn't go through every single question!

Who knew that there were so many similarities between being a Cop, an Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, and a Dad? I sat down with Police Captain/Chief Master Sergeant/Dad Alan Johnson this week. He has some great insights in what it means to wear all of those hats and do an incredible job at each.

I had the great pleasure to talk with Sean Douglas. He is an AF veteran that developed a passion for motivational speaking as a Drill Instructor (for any of you that have had the pleasure of dealing with a Drill Instructor, you'll understand why that is hilarious!!) He has done amazing things already and is growing his influence everyday. He hosts a daily podcast (Life Transformation Radio), he runs a website/company (www.TheSuccessCorps.com), he has written a book (Decisions: The Power To Overcome Self-Defeating Behaviors - available on Amazon), developed a training program for Entrepreneurs/Speakers (Resilience Bootcamp), and in his free time he is a Key Note speaker at events all over the place (check out his TedX presentation https://youtu.be/CKudfG39Vs4). Needless to say, we had a lot to talk about!

One of the best dudes I know made the leap to start his own business a few years ago and he's got some great insight into what it takes to make it work. (Here's a hint, it's in the title!!!)

I got the chance to talk to a group of Good Dudes that are trying to avoid the Dadbod and stay fit for their families. Also, just enjoy some good times with like minded individuals.

Most people have heard that there are 22 veteran suicides each day. Regardless of the number, it's too many. We can affect others around us, and we should make it a positive one.

Yoda was a smart dude (Rest In Peace). We all experience fear and we have to learn to manage it or else it controls us.

This week I got to talk to a (young) Good Dude, Naoufal Abouelhouda. He's one of my Crossfit coaches and is about to graduate from college. It's been a minute since I was in his shoes so I wanted to get some perspective on what it's like for young guys just starting out.

I got to talk coaching with one of my oldest friends Chris(topher) Mills. I can't call him Chris! He has had some great experiences is definitely a good dude.

I have been doing a lot of leadership and team building training lately, but haven't really discussed accountability at all! Well, I'm about to fix that!

You try to eat well, exercise often, and have minimally stressful lifestyle. Then you have a heart attack! That's what my happened to my bro-in-law. Hear his story!

It happens. We all get weird sometimes and usually we can't stop ourselves until it's too late. In some cases, it is the last impression we leave with people for a really long time, then it's like you can't really bring it up because now it's weird that you still remember it, yadda yadda yadda...

It just got real up in here!

I sat down with Father Greg Favazza from St. Micael's Episcopal Church in Orlando. He has a super interesting story and we talk a lot about becoming a priest in today's world.

All about turning my second book into an audiobook. Definitely a new experience.

A great conversation with Good Dude Michael Leblanc. We talked about his recent trip to Africa.

The Crossfit Games have come and gone. Even if you're not into Crossfit, these athletes definitely deserve respect and the competition itself is something worth discussing.

It's training time again. Here are some insights about what AF training is really like.

So, I got hurt, AGAIN! And I can't do half of the things I want to. Where do I go from here?

I had the pleasure of hearing Ryan Leaf speak recently and I was very moved. Definitely worth hearing his story.

Time to celebrate our great country. I drop some knowledge on yall about the U.S. of A!