A candid journey from migrant fields to SEAL teams and CIA, framed by a simple code: be honest and be fair. We explore how elite performance runs on boring discipline, why family carries the heaviest cost, and how purpose survives after the uniform comes off.

• Early life shaped by work, community support, and scarce resources
• Enlisting at 17 and discovering the SEAL path
• BUD/S attrition, mindset, and the value of preparation
• Post‑9/11 CIA work and human stakes of freedom
• 7‑Eleven as a symbol of way of life
• Family sacrifice, stability, and the decision to come home
• Finding purpose after service through writing and mentorship
• Elite standards: discipline, accountability, preparation
• Personal code built on honesty and fairness
• Where to find Tip of the Spear and how to engage

Tip of the Spear is available anywhere books are sold online. Visit tipofthespearbook.com for links and more.

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We share a personal pivot toward executive coaching sparked by a powerful story of success without center and outline a practical path to realignment. We introduce the C4 foundation—character, confidence, creativity, and community—and invite leaders to walk back to center.

• why achievement without alignment breeds drift
• the Arthur Brooks moment as a mirror for purpose
• the move from pastor to executive coach
• the C4 foundation: character as anchor
• confidence as internal compass
• creativity as unique voice, not copy-paste
• community as the better flock
• coaching as strategic partnership and 30,000-foot view
• how future interviews will focus on staying centered
• invitation to connect for intensives or ongoing coaching

We’re going to put my email address in the notes. If you’d like to have further conversation about what that might look like, whether half day intensive or maybe for a couple of months walking a path together, I’d love to talk to you about that: pietvanwaarde@gmail.com

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We explore how spiritual growth moves from private devotion to public responsibility as Amy O’Donnell steps from communications director to executive director at Texas Alliance for Life. She shares hard-won lessons on delegation, media pressure, authentic voice, and the rhythms that keep leaders healthy.

• shifting from church-centered growth to action in the public square
• media training before Dobbs and navigating intense interviews
• building thick skin while keeping empathy for people
• moving from second chair to first chair leadership
• delegating authority, setting accountability, raising morale
• Navy SEAL lessons on discipline and honest self-audit
• finding a new leadership voice after a founder
• using AI as a refining tool, not an origin
• non-sectarian bridge-building across faith communities
• people as the why: donors, families, mothers, and children
• recovery and healing resources after abortion
• rhythms of run and rest to prevent burnout

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We trade the annual resolution rush for a slower, braver approach: examining the hidden drivers that shape our choices. Drawing on Jung’s insight about fate, we ask better questions, choose better fuel, and aim for a life that feels true and sustainable.

• Jung’s quote on the unconscious and fate
• autopilot habits versus real agency
• why resolutions fail by mid‑February
• spotting fear, approval, and purpose as fuel
• replacing outcomes with identity‑shaping practices
• choosing clarity and courage over hustle

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We reflect on Mary’s immediate yes and what it means to pre-decide obedience before the specifics arrive. We share a simple pocket prayer for the season and invite a posture of trust anchored in discernment and courage.

• choosing a Christmas character for focused reflection
• Mary’s immediate response and its implications
• obedience as a pre-decided posture
• discernment versus rash decisions
• applying an advance yes to the year ahead
• using a pocket prayer to train trust

Maybe you want to join me in that as well. Maybe that's your gift to the Lord this year. Your advance, yes.

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We explore how ambition can serve legacy without swallowing your soul, tracing Lisa Copeland’s path from car sales to a 900‑agent real estate team and the habits that keep her rooted. Faith, presence, and integrity shape a career built to last.

• the perils of success and staying grounded
• building a 900‑agent national real estate team
• career pivots from car sales to mortgages to brand relaunch
• covid shutdowns and a fast move into real estate
• bold faith in business and public stances
• small‑town life, close friendships, and trust
• presence over hustle and learning Sabbath
• legacy, showing up for people, and internal integrity

We pray that you have a blessed Christmas and great time with family

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We trace Sam’s path from hospital halls to the pulpit and explore how faithfulness in small things shapes a durable life of service. We share tools for planning rest, handling political tension with empathy, and inviting God into real problems.

• learning pastoral care through hospital service
• choosing planned rest over burnout
• music, scripture and silence as renewal pathways
• handling political division with empathy and respect
• focusing on people’s real struggles over headlines
• asking “what is God doing in this?” as a guide
• a mother’s legacy of daily purpose and courage
• finishing the work God gives with steady love

Join us again next week when we have another sidewalk conversation

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We trace Otto’s path from restless teen to devoted husband, father, and believer, and how one pointed question reframed his career and faith. Along the way, we unpack the habits that keep marriages strong, why accountability works, and how friendships become anchors.

• early influences from a strong mother and approachable youth pastors
• formative moves from Puerto Rico, New York, Virginia, and Florida
• meeting Sandy through hospitality work and building a 40-year marriage
• practical habits of forgiveness, grace, and assuming the best
• the pastor’s challenge that sparked a return to faith
• career doors reinterpreted as God’s assignments
• moving to Texas and finding service, church, and community
• accountability for health goals and why it keeps momentum
• why helpers struggle to receive help and how to grow

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