Dunn on Purpose Podcast

What if the purpose of your business wasn't just to make money?In this conversation with Mitchell Hancock, owner of Kilgore Lawn & Landscape, we explore leadership, mentorship, scouting, stewardship, and why timeless values still matter.Mitchell shares lessons from Rotary, the Boy Scouts, and over a decade of business ownership. We discuss how young men develop into leaders, why mentorship matters, and how every vocation can be viewed as an opportunity to create order and serve others.One of the most powerful ideas from this conversation is that great businesses don't just grow revenue—they grow people.Topics include:✔ Values✔ The EDGE teaching framework✔ Eagle Scouts and leadership development✔ Mentoring young men through work✔ Growing a local business through relationships✔ Stewardship and serving your community✔ Creating order from chaosIf you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe and share it with someone who believes leadership starts locally!You can also watch this conversation on YouTube, and listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.poweracronym.com

The Story of Every Man | Reflections on Creativity, Calling, and CommunityRecently, I had the privilege of being a guest on The Story of Everyman podcast hosted by John Silos. John has built something special here in East Texas—a platform that captures the stories of everyday people and uncovers the wisdom, struggles, and experiences that shape their lives.In our conversation, we covered everything from growing up in Edgewood, Texas, to creativity, faith, podcasting, ambition, networking, and the work I do through roofing, BNI, Dunn On Purpose, and Power Acronym.After listening back to the episode, I realized there were a few ideas worth expanding on.We talked about the challenge every creator faces: the tension between creating and consuming. It's easy to scroll. It's easy to wait. It's easy to let resistance win. Whether you're creating content, building a business, cleaning your truck, or pursuing a dream, fear often disguises itself as procrastination. The work isn't always difficult. Taking the first step usually is.We also explored what motivates me to continue creating. Dunn On Purpose and Power Acronym have become containers for encouraging words, enriching perspectives, and empowering frameworks. They're ways for me to share what I'm learning while documenting the journey of becoming who God created me to be.John asked about ambition, and while I answered the question during the interview, I've continued reflecting on it. If I could summarize my ambition in a single sentence, it would be this:I want to help people through speaking, writing, and coaching.Whether that's through conversations, content, business, networking, leadership, or faith, that's the thread connecting everything I do.We also touched on Strong Com—a framework built around the relationship between Communication, Community, and Company. Strong communication helps people understand one another. Strong communities bring people together around shared values. Strong companies emerge when both are present and healthy.Most of all, this conversation reminded me how much wisdom exists in ordinary people. We live in a time where we can learn from billionaires, celebrities, and world-class experts every day. But some of the most valuable lessons come from the people living and working right beside us.That's what makes The Story of Every Man worth listening to.In The Story of Everyman episode:Growing up in Edgewood, TexasHow I found my way to LongviewPodcasting and creative expressionOvercoming fear and creative resistanceThe evolution of Power AcronymFaith, purpose, and callingCommunication, community, and companyWhat ambition means to me todayConnect🎙️ Listen to The Story of Every Man with John SilosOn YouTubeOn SpotifyOn Apple✍️ Subscribe to Power Acronym🤝 Follow @DunnOnPurpose As always, thank you for listening, reading, sharing, and supporting the work.Today's the day to live on purpose.Get it done. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.poweracronym.com

A few weeks ago, I was asked to give the commencement speech for the Kilgore ISD Pathways graduating class of 2026.The Pathways program serves students whose journey through school looked different than the traditional path. Some faced difficult family situations, setbacks, instability, behavioral struggles, or simply needed a different environment to succeed.After speaking with Lauren Thrasher, the Principal for Pathways Academy, the virtue of Hope felt important to highlight. Power Acronym 3: G.A.P. immediately came to mind. Life is a game of closing the gap between who you are and who you’re capable of becoming.GAP — Goals. Agency. Pathways.This is the bridge that gets from here to there. Goals give you direction.Agency reminds you that you control what you do next.Pathways remind you that there is rarely just one road forward in life.This speech became less about having life figured out and more about learning how to keep moving forward when plans change.I’m grateful for the opportunity, the experience, and the lessons that came from preparing and delivering it.“You can get there from here.”— AaronPower Acronym | The Language of Leadership This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.poweracronym.com

Wow. 🤯That’s about all I can say about this episode!I connected with Dan Kimball through the Heroic community. He’s a Tuscon, AZ-based counselor and coach that helps his clients commit to actions that improve your life while realizing and accepting what is out of your personal control. Learn more about him at his website, Path4Change.comHe has 20 years of experience helping others through several disciplines and evidenced-based techniques, such as Cognitive Behavioral Theory, Motivational Interviewing and Positive Psychology.It was an honor to have a conversation with him.As I do with most guests on the podcast, I framed the conversation with the three C’s of Communication (with ourself, others, and life itself) Community (the virtues and values that bring and hold us together) and how the stronger those are, the stronger our Company (the business we’re building or the company we keep). COMMUNICATIONWe kicked it off with a Power Acronym 4-stage coaching model that Dan created called ARIA, which he walks us through.Awareness and Acceptance,Resilience and Resistance Inspiration and IntentionAction and AccountabilityHe’s infused it with deep wisdom and practical application I think you’ll find incredibly helpful on your quest.He also exemplified one of his signature Via Character strengths (creativity) through his work as an artist and showed the impressive box he created that beautifully showcases the ARIA model, the 24 Character strengths, his experience using Power Animals through his understanding of shamanism, and more.Watch the video of our conversation on YouTube here.He also gave me (and you) access to the Optitron, which is essentially the digital, online, interactive version of the art he created.+ It's got a cyberpunk style! 😎Learn more about the Optitron here,and access the Optitron here!Like I said… 🤯COMMUNITYThen we discussed the Village Question, the question I ask every guest on the show, which lead us to a discussion about pursuing Purpose and how you can discover your own. THAT brought us to another question:How do you know when you’re taking the virtuous path, rather than the vicious one, when on the pursuit of your purpose? His answer (as they all were ) was enlightening. COMPANYWe wrapped our conversation by talking about how he got involved with Heroic, how it’s impacted each of our lives, and why we stay engaged with the community and use the app each day.Dan is just one of the many incredible people in the Heroic community. If you’re interested in checking out Heroic, try it for free here.You can learn more about the Heroic Coach program here. Here's the link to Dan's website, YouTube and LinkedIn. His email is dan@path4change.com.And as always, if you’d like any support on your quest to live on purpose, it would be an honor to speak with you as well! Feel free to email me at aaron@strongmy.com.Have a wonderful week!Aaron This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.poweracronym.com

Earlier this month I drove down to Katy TX to spend some time with my brother and his family before we woke up the next morning for the Spartan Sprint! 5k trail run + 20 obstacles later, R.J. completed his first ever Spartan (and 5k race!) and I completing my first ever Sprint!It was super fun to complete the race with him and it seems we may have stated a new brotherly tradition. We're already thinking about when the next one might be!We also recorded a podcast which I finally got around to editing.In this episode you'll hear us start with a wrap up of the Spartan race before I lead the conversation through the Strong Com 3 C's.Strong Communication * What is R.J.'s go to Power Acronym?* Leading a sales team* Building a S.M.A.R.T. culture+ Community Building* The Village Question= Strong CompanyEnjoy!Thanks for reading Local Leadership Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.poweracronym.com

I’ve been filled with thoughts about Leadership the past week. It began with our PDQ America lunch & learn where we hosted Scott Brown, an executive director with John Maxwell. In this episode, I share some of the notes that I got from that one-hour talk. Powerful stuff! I invite you to reflect on the question that was asked of us:“How well do I DO that?” - listen to the show to understand where to apply this!Then I share some takeaways from the PDQ America Leadership team meeting we had this weekend. It was extremely productive and inspired many thoughts!I close this episode with a Power Acronym: L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. This one was originally published by the Methodist church I grew up in and it’s full of wisdom!Then, after some short ideas about sports and crafting a championship mindset about whatever it is that you do, I cap it off with Letters of Leadership: L, which I’ll share more in-depth later this week. They are: Love. Logic. Lyricism. Leader yourself first!Let me know what you think of these topics in a comment!If you’d like to further the conversation via audio, let me know! Thanks for reading Local Leadership Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.poweracronym.com

After I recorded Preach Practice last week I knew I’d follow it up with an episode about the work I’m doing to craft my personal philosophy.As I mentioned in that episode and reference multiple times in this one, I joined Heroic Coach Class XI in May of last year. It is a 300-day certification program that covers a TON of content, but as someone who loves to learn, it’s right up my alley. I’m just a few weeks from completing the certification and one of the recommended practices was to start drafting my own personal philosophy. After spending a few hours over the course of a week in my journal and thinking about what works for me, and how I would put my own spin on all that I’ve learned and am putting into practice in my own life, I thought it would be fun to share a working draft with you!This exercise is sort of like refining the 33 Life Lessons from 33 Years of Life down to 10. I intended on sharing all 10 ideas when I started, but as I got through the first 5 I decided to turn this into a two-parter. I’ll come back next week with the next 5 ideas. Do you have a personal philosophy? What is it?As I encourage you to do in the audio, if any of these ideas resonate with you or if you have any thoughts of your own, please share! Here are the first 5 with some additional notes I reference in the episode:Heart Mind and SoulVirtue: ZestBody Temple- Sweat More Often- Eat Move Sleep Breath Focus Celebrate ProsperInner CitadelTool: MeditationPhilosopher Note - The Inner Citadel“Most people are not alive, because they do not live in the present, but are always outside of themselves, alienated, and dragged backwards and forwards by the past and by the present. They do not know that the present is the only point at which they are truly themselves and free. The present is the only point which, thanks to our action and our consciousness, gives us access to the totality of the world.” - Pierre HadotSanctuaryTime & Man (Georgios I. Mantzaridis)Being (Werner Erhard, Martin Heidegger)Roots & WingsVirtues: Gratitude & HopeRootsWingsPhilosophers Note: Gratitude Works!Science of Hope: Goals + Agency + PathwaysVeritasVirtue: CuriosityComplete AcceptanceHammer vs. Flashlight”In Spirit and in Truth”Self CompassionCollecting TurnaroundsTrust ThyselfVirtue: Confidence“And truly it demands something godlike in him who has cast off the common motives of humanity, and has ventured to trust himself for a taskmaster. High be his heart, faithful his will, clear his sight, that he may in good earnest be doctrine, society, law, to himself, that a simple purpose may be to him as strong as iron necessity is to others!” - Ralph Waldo EmersonThe “Jonah Complex” from Future VisionsTool: WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan)Warrior PoetryVirtue: Self MasteryCreative ActionAncient Wisdom + Modern ScienceMasteryIdentity in Big 3: Energy, Work, and LoveOptimal Deployment of limited resources“Aim Start Flow Learn Repeat”Thanks again for reading/listening!If this draft is any indication, there’s much more work to be done! I’m excited to dive deeper into these concepts and most importantly continue practicing them in my own life. Thanks for reading Local Leadership Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.poweracronym.com

In this episode you’ll hear my conversation with Adriana Reid, founder and CEO of Be2Be Coaching. Her area of expertise focuses on public and human relations. Due to her integrative career path, she has acquired a great social sensitivity and spirit of service, allowing her to expand her capacity for action, synthesis, and analysis in political, economic, and social integration processes coming to one conclusion: There is a GAP between our personal development (who we are being) and our roles/functions as humans (what do we do & what we have).Our conversation covers a wide range of topics including the “Doing in-order-to-have” paradigm, her coaching methodology, Beingness, values, emotional self-sufficiency and much more.Adriana also answers The Village Question and brings her own “Com” word to the conversation, which is super powerful!You’ll also hear a practice you can implement immediatelly. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.poweracronym.com