Army of Normal Folks

In this Shop Talk, Bill breaks down what a concussion actually is, why repeated hits on an unhealed brain lead to CTE, and why he believes today’s players - armed with the data his generation never had - aren’t victims when they choose to play. He makes the case for why football still matters, from the teamwork and sacrifice it builds to the toughness our culture needs more of, and lays out real solutions to play safely.  ARMY ACTIONS Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us! Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/ Take The 10 Level Challenge, “the hero’s journey for service” at 10LevelChallenge.org Record a testimonial or recommend a guest here - https://army.storytap.com/906/start/anf-listeners?epdescription Follow us on all socials:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolksFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolksX: https://x.com/armynormalfolksLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, James Whitford, co-founder of Watered Gardens and True Charity, breaks down why most well-meaning charity accidentally traps people in dependency instead of helping them be self sufficient. He’ll walk us through what true charity looks like. This one will change how you think about giving, volunteering, and what it actually means to believe in someone. ARMY ACTIONS Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us! Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/ Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org Record a testimonial or recommend a guest - https://army.storytap.com/906/start/anf-listeners?epdescription Follow us on all socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 16, Sean Pica made a decision that landed him in a maximum security prison. Now he holds multiple master's degrees and serves as president of Hudson Link - the nonprofit whose prison education programs once gave him a reason to believe his life wasn't over. In this episode, Sean shares his story and tells us why fewer than 2% of Hudson Link's graduates return to prison.  ARMY ACTIONS Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us! Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/ Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org Record a testimonial or recommend a guest - https://army.storytap.com/906/start/anf-listeners?epdescription Follow us on all socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Shop Talk, Bill and Alex take on the nine million self-help books promising to fix your life, from 4:17 a.m. ice baths to journaling and cutting carbs, and go back to the one that has stuck around for decades: Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Bill walks through all seven, from quitting the complaining about what you can't control to learning to listen to someone without preparing a rebuttal. His case is that your calendar is a more honest statement of your priorities than your mouth. That opens a bigger conversation about being a good neighbor: why generosity is a habit and not one check, why curiosity is becoming a radical act, and why character gets built in ordinary decisions, not giant moments. Plus Alex's idea for a yearly seven-habit scorecard and why he's heading to Vegas to sharpen the saw. ARMY ACTIONS Sign up for the newsletter: https://normalfolks.org/#newsletter-cta Join or start a local service club: https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/ Take the 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service": https://normalfolks.org/10-level-challenge/ Have an idea for a Shop Talk or a guest for the show? Write Bill anytime at [email protected] Follow us on all socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/ — 0:00 Welcome to the Shop: 9 Million Self-Help Books 0:32 What Are Stephen Covey's 7 Habits? 1:25 How to Stop Worrying About What You Can't Control 3:03 Why Your Calendar Shows Your Real Priorities 6:24 How Small Habits Build Character 9:29 How to Avoid Burnout and Sharpen the Saw Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Bill sits down with Rob Maaddi, senior NFL writer for the Associated Press and host of Faith on the Field, who partied with the athletes he covered and was divorced by 30, empty, broke and broken. After 36 straight days of drinking, a woman who told him she wasn't meant for him walked him to the front of Times Square Church. Today he plays softball in prison yards with the Deacons Prison Ministry, where an inmate who threatened to shank him came back to thank him. That opens a bigger conversation about where purpose comes from: why Super Bowl champions ask "now what" two days after the parade, why a pastor told him to take Jesus to his marketplace instead of quitting the AP, and what John Harbaugh's 95-5 rule teaches anyone raising kids. Plus Tony Dungy, the Hall of Fame coach who ushers at his church. — ARMY ACTIONS Sign up for the newsletter: https://normalfolks.org/#newsletter-cta Join or start a service club: https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/ Take the 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service": https://normalfolks.org/10-level-challenge/ Listen to Rob's show, Faith on the Field: https://faithonthefieldshow.com/ Have an idea for a Shop Talk or a guest for the show? Write Bill anytime at [email protected] — Follow us on all socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/  Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Bill sits down with Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe for a Supporting Greatness conversation about the three normal men who made him: a grandfather who only went to the seventh grade, a scoutmaster who ran Boy Scout Troop 16 like an organized gang and made a stammering kid sing to 200 people, and a music teacher who told him to stutter on his own time. Mike traces Dirty Jobs to a call from his mother at 42 and the sewer footage that got him fired from CBS. That opens a bigger conversation about who supports greatness: why enduring discomfort is never enough, why a comfort zone becomes a human stop sign, and why one of the smartest men Mike ever met never finished school. Plus faking his way into the Baltimore Opera, three firings from QVC, and work ethic scholarships for people who skip the four-year degree. ARMY ACTIONS Sign up for the newsletter: https://normalfolks.org/#newsletter-cta Join or start a service club: https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/ Take the 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service": https://normalfolks.org/10-level-challenge/ Learn about Mike Rowe's work ethic scholarships at mikeroweWORKS: https://mikeroweworks.org/ Have an idea for a Shop Talk or a guest for the show? Write Bill anytime at [email protected] Follow us on all socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/ — 0:00 Mike Rowe on Supporting Greatness 2:20 Mike Rowe on His Grandfather and Dirty Jobs 12:57 How Mike Rowe Got Fired From CBS 18:32 Why Mike Rowe Had a Stutter as a Kid 21:23 What Boy Scouts Was Like in 1975 22:41 Why Enduring Discomfort Isn't Enough 30:54 Why Your Comfort Zone Is a Human Stop Sign 32:48 Mike Rowe on Music Teacher Fred King 39:17 The Audition That Ended His Stutter 45:30 How Mike Rowe Faked His Way Into the Opera 54:29 Why Dirty Jobs Never Did a Second Take 59:23 Mike Rowe on Work Ethic Scholarships  Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's not a matter of if a disaster hits your community. It's when. And when it does, the first person on the scene isn't first responders or government officials. It's your neighbor. Jeff Byard has spent 24 years in disaster response - from the Marine Corps to Alabama Emergency Management to FEMA. Then he left to go work with Team Rubicon - a volunteer lead disaster relief organization. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Bill to talk about what he learned from a career of showing up for people on their worst day - and what every one of us can do right now to be ready when our neighbors need us most. You'll walk away knowing how to prepare your family before disaster strikes, why your next-door neighbor is the most important first responder in any emergency, and how ordinary people are doing some of the most important disaster relief work in the country through Team Rubicon. ARMY ACTIONS Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us! Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/ Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Bill sits down with Teagan and Koston McCoy of Unify USA: how Teagan, 21 and fed up with the division on his phone, pulled an American flag off his truck, ran 22 miles on a whim, and turned eight million views into flag runs across seven states. He gets spit on, has cigarette butts thrown at him, and tells them he loves them anyway. That opens a bigger conversation about what actually divides Americans: the wedge inside their own family, a jar of ants blaming each other instead of the man who shook it, and 600 flags through Central Park without a single protester. Plus a leprechaun calls in to sing Bill happy birthday. ARMY ACTIONS Sign up for the newsletter and join the Army: https://normalfolks.org/#newsletter-cta Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/ Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at https://normalfolks.org/10-level-challenge/ Follow Unify USA at https://unifyusaofficial.com Have an idea for a Shop Talk or a guest for the show? Write Bill anytime at [email protected]   Follow us on all socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyofnormalfolks/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@armyofnormalfolks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyofNormalFolks X: https://x.com/armynormalfolks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/an-army-of-normal-folks/ Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At one of the most secular campuses in America, a group of Christians set up a confessionial booth during a wild campus party. But they weren't there to hear confessions. They were there to give them. Tony Kriz sat in that booth and apologized to skeptical strangers for the ways Christians had failed to love people. Students who came in ready to argue left having opened up about their own struggles.  This episode is a masterclass in what humility can do that arguments never will. ARMY ACTIONS Subscribe to the podcast and rate & review us! Signup to join the Army, visit NormalFolks.org Follow us on social media @ArmyofNormalFolks Join or start an ANF local service club at https://normalfolks.org/service-clubs/ Take The 10 Level Challenge, "the hero's journey for service" at 10LevelChallenge.org Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.