Contrary to popular belief, hope isn't a feeling. It's a formula that Dr. Ashley Cross is about to teach you about. And according to research, it's the single best predictor of wellbeing. More than grit, resilience, confidence, and it’s needed to unlock all of them. 

Dr. Cross is one of the nation's leading practitioners of the "Science of Hope” through the incredible work of her Rochester nonprofit Hope 585 and now through her work advising the hope-centered movement in Memphis. 

Her hope lessons in this episode might just change your life…  and definitely can help many of the lives you’re serving. Learn more about her work at Hope585.org

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Contrary to popular belief, hope isn't a feeling. It's a formula that Dr. Ashley Cross is about to teach you about. And according to research, it's the single best predictor of wellbeing. More than grit, resilience, confidence, and it’s needed to unlock all of them. 

Dr. Cross is one of the nation's leading practitioners of the "Science of Hope” through the incredible work of her Rochester nonprofit Hope 585 and now through her work advising the hope-centered movement in Memphis. 

Her hope lessons in this episode might just change your life…  and definitely can help many of the lives you’re serving. Learn more about her work at Hope585.org

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's Shop Talk, Bill and Alex discuss the Asoh Defense — the forgotten leadership principle that says admitting your mistake honestly and immediately is more powerful than any excuse you could make.

This one's for anyone who's ever been wrong about something. So, everyone. 

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nate Larkin spent 20 years hiding a sex addiction. For 5 of those years, he was a pastor. When it was exposed and everything collapsed, it could have been the end of his story. It turned out to be the beginning.

In this conversation, Nate shares what it took to rebuild and how that journey led him and a dozen guys to start the Samson Society, a community built on radical transparency, vulnerability, and confidentiality. What started as one small group has now grown to more than 600 local chapters, daily virtual meetings in 8 languages, and has helped over 25,000 men heal! 

You might benefit from the Samson Society or the newer women's version called the Sarah Society. We all know family members and friends who could. And Nate can teach all of us how to be real and live authentically. 

Check out Samson Society here: https://www.samsonsociety.com/about 

Join Army of Normal Folks and receive our Soul Service newsletter: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nate Larkin spent 20 years hiding a sex addiction. For 5 of those years, he was a pastor. When it was exposed and everything collapsed, it could have been the end of his story. It turned out to be the beginning.

In this conversation, Nate shares what it took to rebuild and how that journey led him and a dozen guys to start the Samson Society, a community built on radical transparency, vulnerability, and confidentiality. What started as one small group has now grown to more than 600 local chapters, daily virtual meetings in 8 languages, and has helped over 25,000 men heal! 

You might benefit from the Samson Society or the newer women's version called the Sarah Society. We all know family members and friends who could. And Nate can teach all of us how to be real and live authentically. 

Check out Samson Society here: https://www.samsonsociety.com/about 

Join Army of Normal Folks and receive our Soul Service newsletter: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most commencement speeches are forgotten within days. But when country music star Eric Church compared life to a guitar with six strings that must stay in tune—faith, family, relationships, ambition, community, and identity—the message struck a chord with millions. In this Shop Talk, Bill and Alex unpack the viral speech and explore what it means to keep your own life in tune when the world keeps pulling you out of it. 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After nearly taking his own life during a difficult transition from the military, retired Green Beret Scott Mann discovered an unexpected path to healing: telling the stories he most wanted to hide.

In this conversation, Scott shares lessons from combat, leading Operation Pineapple Express (rescued 1,000 Afghanis from the Taliban), and his new book, The Generosity of Scars, showing us how our hardest moments can help others feel less alone—and why the stories we're most afraid to tell may be the ones the world most needs to hear.

Buy The Generosity of Scars here

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After nearly taking his own life during a difficult transition from the military, retired Green Beret Scott Mann discovered an unexpected path to healing: telling the stories he most wanted to hide.

In this conversation, Scott shares lessons from combat, leading Operation Pineapple Express (rescued 1,000 Afghanis from the Taliban), and his new book, The Generosity of Scars, showing us how our hardest moments can help others feel less alone—and why the stories we're most afraid to tell may be the ones the world most needs to hear.

Buy The Generosity of Scars here

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Shop Talk, the extraordinary story one Army member inspiring another one, which inspires us and hopefully you! Amy Crenshaw's nonprofit ComeUnity Cafe where you can donate money or work for your food inspired Lisa Fox to drive 9 hours from Wellington, OH to Jackson, TN to volunteer there for several days and explore if she can do something similar in her community. Listen to this episode and think: Who can inspire me to do even more? 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it actually take for a person—and a whole community—to flourish? That's the nut that Joe Woodward from Stand Together is trying to crack in Wichita, as part of their goal to make it a model city for the country. In this episode, Joe shares the 7 conditions every person needs to thrive, why healthy families and communities matter more than we realize, and how ordinary people can solve problems that institutions can't. From a $500 e-bike that transformed a single dad's life to innovative efforts tackling foster care, housing, and poverty, this conversation will challenge the way you think about service, empowerment, and your role in helping your community flourish.

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it actually take for a person—and a whole community—to flourish? That's the nut that Joe Woodward from Stand Together is trying to crack in Wichita, as part of their goal to make it a model city for the country. In this episode, Joe shares the 7 conditions every person needs to thrive, why healthy families and communities matter more than we realize, and how ordinary people can solve problems that institutions can't. From a $500 e-bike that transformed a single dad's life to innovative efforts tackling foster care, housing, and poverty, this conversation will challenge the way you think about service, empowerment, and your role in helping your community flourish.

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.